Herald
by whiteleopard1124
Summary: The Conference. Naruto had waited thirteen long years to begin his journey to being the Champion. He knew it was going to be hard, but getting chased by bounty hunters and shady organisations was not what he expected. At all. To make things worse, he still had to figure out why legendary pokemon seemed to be popping up wherever he went in Sanka. He should've just stayed at home...
1. Certification

**Hey guys, this is my first attempt at a crossover fic. Naruto and Pokemon is not a particularly large crossover, but that's okay.**

**Read the author's note at the bottom if you make it that far. It has some information that is pretty important for some of you.**

**Please drop a review as well as some suggestions on teams, nicknames and even the ship/pairing if you want to. Also, if you're confused.**

**This is about 9700 words. I usually do chapters of this size or larger. Usually larger lol.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the Pokemon franchise.**

* * *

The academy of Saisho Town was one of the smaller ones in the Sanka region. It only produced roughly 20 trainers each year. It was not a bad academy or anything, but it located in a very small town. Saisho only had a population of roughly 10 000. The residents of Saisho were surrounded by lush forests and ample land. There were enough jobs for everyone and so the need to pack up and explore the world did not strike everyone's fancy.

"Naruto!" said a man with a scar across his nose, "Would care to name two abilities that prevent sleep?"

Naruto was a blonde boy that looked to be about 13 years old. He was wearing blue trousers and a bright orange jacket with a large black stripe down the middle. He had been busy staring out the window when his name had been called.

The boy spun to face his teacher, an action that made his spiky locks whip to the side and cleared his throat, "If you want me to, Iruka-sensei. Insomnia and Vital Spirit both prevent sleep in those that hold it. They seem the same to most people, but they are different. The biology of a pokemon with Vital Spirit is shown to lack the capability to produce the hormones which would put it to sleep. This, however, does not seem to prevent them from falling asleep on their own accord. pokemon with Insomnia are different in that they lack key neural-"

A loud yawn interrupted Naruto's explanation and he stopped immediately until he met the eyes of a boy with spiky brown hair. He was wearing a fur-lined grey jacket with the hood up and he had these strange markings similar to a fang on both of his cheeks.

"Sorry, Uzumaki," said the boy with no real meaning to his words, "You were just boring me half to death there."

"Well sorry if this is too hard for you to understand, Kiba," retorted Naruto his blue eyes glaring at the other boy, "Maybe if you paid attention in class then I wouldn't be ahead 7-3 in our fights."

The small class of students laughed openly at the expense of Kiba. The boy seemed to grow irritated by this and he jumped out his seat yelling, "You know I would have beaten you if I used Akamaru instead of those weak-ass Academy pokemon!"

To emphasise his point, Kiba plucked the pokeball at his side and he was about to enlarge it when he felt something tap him on the shoulder. Kiba looked at the students in front of him and he began to panic when he saw the arrogant smirk of Naruto melt away as he looked over his shoulder. Kiba took a deep breath and turned around. He was greeted by the sight of an Empoleon that held a stern expression as it crossed its arms.

"That's enough Tsunami. I think you got his attention," said Iruka and Tsunami seemed to sag in disappointment before he allowed his trainer to return him to his ball.

"Kiba," said Iruka his voice stern as he looked at the boy, "You know the rules. Students must use the academy provided pokemon in all practice battles. The academy pokemon are disciplined and can fight each other at levels that the staff here set beforehand. I don't believe I have to remind you that you had the type advantage in 5 of those battles with Naruto."

"Sorry sensei," said Kiba as he put away Akamaru's ball. Naruto, in contrast, was eating this up. It served Kiba right to interrupt him while he had been talking. It had taken years of studying to get to the top of his class and he would be damned if-

"Naruto," said Iruka just as sternly as before and Naruto felt his smugness melt away beneath Iruka's gaze, "You need to temper your arrogance. You may be top of the class, but that does not mean you get to slack off nor does it mean you get to talk down to Kiba. Should you two graduate tomorrow you will both be D-rank trainers. As far as the league is concerned you will be equal in terms of ranking and importance and the only way to prove your strength as a trainer is to rank up by beating other trainers. You should not hold too much pride over a win you obtained in controlled conditions and with pokemon you did not even train. There will be hundreds, if not thousands, of trainers from around Sanka that graduated top of their class."

Naruto, similarly to Kiba, was cowed by Iruka's stern rebuke. The class continued without much fuss afterwards. Naruto paid attention despite the embarrassment he felt after Iruka's words.

It's not like he was lying. Naruto did tend to be arrogant. Once, he had been drawn against Kiba and as luck would have it he had had the type advanced against Kiba.

He had been one good hit away from winning when he had decided to refrain from attacking entirely and had instructed his pokemon to evade attacks only. That had served a dual purpose in annoying Kiba and tiring out Kiba.

That was until Kiba had wised up and he had ordered the Snivy he was commanding to use Swift. The Vulpix Naruto had been commanding took the loss personally and to this day Naruto never used it again in another fight.

The bell rang suddenly and the students packed up before leaving in a rush. Soon, it was only Naruto left who was not feeling as eager as the other kids to return home.

Iruka seemed to notice this and said, "Naruto? I know you have to study for your test tomorrow, but would like to go out for a bowl of ramen?"

Naruto paused halfway through putting his textbooks in his bag. A smile quickly grew on his face as the joy he felt inside bled to the surface.

"Sure!" said Naruto as he finished packing in a matter of moments.

Naruto slung his bag over his back and he was soon out the door as Iruka trailed behind with a smile on his face.

* * *

The sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon as Naruto made his way back from having ramen with Iruka. Their meal did not have much in the way of conversation, but that was probably more down to Iruka letting Naruto catch up with the Ichiraku family.

It had still been great, but in the end, Naruto had been forced to leave to get in a bit more studying for the test. Iruka had covered the rather large bill and that had only endeared the man to Naruto even further.

The teacher tended to be a bit of a stickler for the rules, but he always indulged Naruto's questions from the inane to the insane. Iruka was always willing to help and he was a part of the reason Naruto had taken so well to the Academy.

Naruto reached the gate of his house and after locking it behind him he dug into his pockets for the keys to his house. After a few seconds of rummaging, he finally found them and he opened the door into the house.

The house was as big and empty as ever and Naruto walked up the stairs to his room. He put his bag down by his desk before grabbing his towel and heading into the bathroom.

A few minutes later he was soaking underneath a spray of hot water. The heat soothed his tired body and Naruto relished in it. A hot shower would soon be a luxury he would not have once he began his journey.

The idea of starting his journey filled him with excitement. This was the moment he had spent his whole life preparing for and there was no way he would drop the ball.

The exam consisted of four sections. First was the theory exam which examined one's knowledge on type advantages, abilities and basic pokemon biology. Easy.

Following the theory was the survival exam which, of course, tested one's survival skills like first aid, cooking, building shelters and so on. Basic.

There was a small physical exam to ensure all trainers met the minimum physical requirements to start their journey and Naruto knew that he was more than ready for that.

Finally, there was a simulation battle with one of the Academy pokemon. Students would be given a list of the pokemon's moves and ability and it was up to them to win the battle which was against Iruka. This was probably the hardest part of the exam, but at the same time, it was what Naruto was most excited for.

Survival skills and theory was all well and good, but where Naruto shined was in battle. There was nothing like working together with a pokemon to defeat a enemy. The thrill it gave him was electrifying.

It also made him rather jealous of Kiba and that he had a pokemon of his own. Akamaru usually had to stay within his ball while at the academy which was for the best. Akamaru was a bit of a nightmare at times.

Akamaru's misbehaviour at least made Naruto feel better, but in truth, he still wished he had a pokemon of his own. Luckily, he was graduating tomorrow and then he would get to pick out his starter.

Naruto was drawn out of his daze as he felt that the air was beginning to become a bit too thick for his liking. He took the soap and after lathering up his hands he began to clean his body. A few minutes later he was done showering and he grabbed his towel before making his way back to his room.

He put on a pair of casual shorts and a shirt before heading downstairs to make dinner. He was still feeling full, but since he was the only one capable of cooking in this house–

"You sure took your time in the shower," said a deep masculine voice from behind Naruto that was thick with amusement, "Cranking the ol' love pump? You can tell uncle Jiraiya... You have nothing to be ashamed of, you know? We have been running out of lotion quicker than usual so you _might_ wanna slow down, but who am I to–"

Whatever the man was going to say was cut off as a tomato smashed into his face. The man was rather tall and had long shaggy white hair. The man wore a red sleeveless jacket over a green shirt. He also had on a pair of green pants and was wearing a pair of sandals.

"What's wrong with you!" shouted Naruto as he reached for another tomato, "You don't ask people questions like that! Never mind your _godson_! What would Shizune or the old hag say if I–"

In a flash, Jiraiya had covered Naruto's mouth with his hand and he looked around the room as if he had been overheard.

"Careful what you say around these parts, Naruto," said Jiraiya his voice quiet and yet still holding a certain amount of fear in it, "You never know who could be–Ouch! Did you just bite me? "

Jiraiya had let go of Naruto after the boy had decided to make a meal out of his hand. Naruto breathed heavily as he felt his annoyance coming to the surface. All he wanted was a calm, quiet evening. Tsunade had said the pervert was not supposed to be here until tomorrow morning, but there had been a change of plans.

"Yes, I did," said Naruto his hands balled into fists, "I was going to make myself some food since baa-chan and Shizune-nee ate all the food I made before they left. How did you guys survive without being able to cook?"

Jiraiya had seemingly gotten over Naruto's attack in his person as he began to wipe the tomato off his face. Once he was done he threw them away in the bin and after grabbing a bottle of sake out the fridge he turned to Naruto.

"Kid, we can all cook," said Jiraiya as he searched for a glass to pour the drink into, "You're just a lot better at it than all of us. Besides me and your Aunt Tsunade are both ranked in the top 20. Why would we bother with learning how to cook when we could hire any chef to cook for us?"

"That would be a waste of money, "retorted Naruto and he was rewarded with a sound of approval from Jiraiya who had finally found a glass.

"Exactly, "said Jiraiya as he poured the sake into the glass, "That's why we just let you cook for us. I'll admit I use to throw your food away or give it to Gama, but now you're pretty damn good."

"You guys are both stinking rich thanks to your stipend from the league though," said Naruto as he began to prepare the food anyway, "I'll only get around twenty thousand dollars for the next year. You guys get like ten times that monthly. If anything, you guys should be buying me food."

"Well kid," said Jiraiya slowly after taking a sip of his drink, "When you become an S-rank trainer feel free to blow your cash on whatever you want. "

"Ero-sennin?" said Naruto as he slowed in his preparation of the food, "Are they going to make it tomorrow? "

Jiraiya paused with his glass halfway to his mouth. He downed the contents of the glass before responding, "Kid, you know they would come if they could. They've been very busy. "

"So you've said for the past three years," said Naruto after sighing heavily before he put the diced up vegetables aside, "I'm guessing you'll be the one sending me off then?"

"That's right," said Jiraiya as he reclined in his chair, "Tsunade is in high demand. I guess being the best doctor in the region will do that to you."

"Who needs 'em anyway?" said Jiraiya as he jumped out of his seat, "You have me and I'm way cooler than those squares. I even got you a little gift. Something to, uh, motivate you for your test."

"A gift?" said Naruto as he turned towards Jiraiya with his eyebrow raised, "This isn't like the time where you gave me one of your stupid books, is it? If it is I'll tell Tsunade about the time you made Gama use Camouflage to–"

"Would you let that go?" said Jiraiya as he slammed his hands onto the table, "I already bought you like 12 Ultra Balls just to keep you quiet. Real men honour their agreements, kid. If you bring that up again I might just let Bunta 'spar' with you again. He's been saying you might have gotten sloppy."

Naruto froze at Jiraiya's tone before he opened the fridge to get some meat out, "You know what? I don't seem to remember what we were just talking about. Something about a gift?"

"That's what I thought," said Jiraiya as he took the meat from Naruto, "You'll see it after your test. Now go study. I'll handle dinner then I'll test you on what you've learnt. You better get my questions right if not then you may need some positive reinforcement from Bunta."

"You're on, old man," said Naruto and while he meant to sound confident a trickle of fear crept into his voice, "I can take anything you and Bunta throw at me."

"Well then," said Jiraiya his voice holding no trace of humour, "I'll just tell Bunta you're feeling cocky. We'll see just how long that lasts."

Well, shit.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he rolled out of bed. His alarm was still blaring, but Naruto for the life of him could not care. His body was still feeling the pain from getting some of Jiraiya's more obscure questions wrong.

He had started well enough, but then Jiraiya decided to make things harder on him and when he got them wrong Gamabunta, Jiraiya's Greninja, would slap him or toss him or kick him and the list went on. Admittedly, the 'positive' reinforcement had done its job and now Naruto knew he was going to ace the test.

Jiraiya had asked some of the most obscure questions that Naruto himself had been surprised to hear what the answers were. Like how the largest Torterra ever found was said to be larger than multiple cities put together.

That had been interesting if not a little surprising to find out. However, there was some other stuff Naruto wished he could burn from his mind. For instance, Skitty was able to breed with Wailord. The sheer gulf in size between the two had made Naruto feel sorry for the poor Skitty that had found out about its species compatibility with the Wailord line.

As it turned out, much to Naruto's relief, a Skitty had been artificially inseminated which made a lot more sense. This had been found out by Tsunade in a bid to categorise every Pokemon into their egg groups.

She had done this in her youth and from then on it had been apparent to a lot of people just how prodigious she was when it came to the medical field. That coupled with the fact that she was ranked eleventh in the world only made her that much more of a legend in her own right.

Of course, no one ever called her a legend to her face. That implied you were calling her old and that would not end well for whichever fool had been bold or stupid enough to say so. That woman's fist had the force of an Onix behind it and Naruto had only been given the pleasure of being punched by her once.

The last thing he remembered of that day was a fist closing in on him and then he woke up in bed two whole days after the event. Needless to say, Naruto had begged Tsunade to help him bulk up which in hindsight had been not the best of decisions.

"Naruto!" shouted Jiraiya as he banged on the door, "Turn that alarm off and shower! You better not be late for the test. They won't let you in and Tsunade will somehow blame me and that's the last thing I need right now."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but he shut the alarm before heading into the shower. He emerged a few minutes later and after getting dressed in blue pants and an orange tracksuit he headed downstairs.

To his surprise, breakfast was already waiting for him at the dining table. He sat down and a few seconds later Jiraiya emerged with his plate of breakfast. He nodded at Naruto before beginning to devour his food.

Naruto was used to this display from the man and he ate a more steady pace. Usually, he would eat just as sloppily as Jiraiya, but his mind was focused on the exam more than anything.

"Snap out of it, kid," said Jiraiya with his mouth still full, "You are going to graduate and once that's done you will begin your journey. What are your plans? Have you found someone to travel with? "

"Nope," said Naruto as he began to eat some more, "I don't get on that well with anyone in my class except for Kiba and it would be a disaster if we went together. "

"You should find someone to travel with," said Jiraiya his voice calmer than usual, "Tsunade and I travelled together for a large part of our careers. It may have started as me wanting to get a date out of her, but she eventually warmed up to me."

"Did you ever get that date?" asked Naruto as he noticed the faraway look on Jiraiya's face.

"No," said Jiraiya his voice firmer than before, "Tsunade only ever had eyes for Dan and once he died Tsunade lost interest in all things romantic."

"You should probably try again," said Naruto as he pushed away his empty plate, "You guys suit each other."

"Thanks, kid," said Jiraiya and he was about to add more when Naruto spoke up.

"Besides," said Naruto as he made his way for the door, "You guys aren't getting any younger. Pretty soon you'll be wrinkled and worn down. You might as well shoot your shot now before you become too ugly for even baa-chan."

Naruto had picked up his bag and as soon as he finished his sentence he placed it in front of his face. It was the right thing to as a second later he felt something smash into his makeshift shield. He was sent stumbling back, but he was able to stay on his feet. He lowered his bag and he was greeted by the sight of Gamabunta, Jiraiya's Greninja.

"You're getting predictable, old man," said Naruto a he looked over the shoulder of the Greninja, "That training with Tsunade has boosted my strength. You're gonna need to try harder than-"

Whatever Naruto was going to say was cut off as Jiraiya slammed a punch into his stomach. Naruto wheezed before collapsing to his knees his hands hugging his stomach. A few seconds later, Naruto regained his composure and said, "Is there some sort of drug you and baa-chan are taking? Normal humans are not this strong. You probably should hold off on taking it if you are. I don't want your heart giving out on us just yet. "

Gamabunta let out a croak that could only be described as a laugh and Jiraiya sighed as he felt his patience growing thin, "You sure have your mother's mouth on you. I'll show you the trick to mine and Tsunade's strength when you're ready. Until then you keep your mouth shut about my age or I'll let Bunta use you for target practice. Understood?'

"Yeah," said Naruto as he rose to his feet, "I won't say anything about you getting old anymore. Anyways, I gotta run. Bunta, keep an eye on him. I don't trust him.'

Gamabunta nodded and gave a thumbs up which was rather reminiscent of Jiraiya before Naruto put on his bag and left all while Jiraiya seemed to only catch on to Naruto's veiled insult as he left the door.

"I'm only 48, brat!" shouted Jiraiya to the now-closed door.

"I don't look old. Isn't that right, Bunta?" asked Jiraiya as he produced a handheld mirror from somewhere.

He received a croak as his only reply and Jiraiya sighed heavily.

"Is it that bad?"

Croak.

"Whatever," said Jiraiya as he began to walk out the house as his partner followed him, "You just like the kid because he gives me grief. Is this what 40 years of battling and friendship gets me?

Croak.

"I hate you."

* * *

"Okay, listen up," said Iruka as he held a stack of papers, "This exam will be three hours long. You will have five minutes of reading time. The survival exam will be next and then we will have the physical evaluation. The mock battle will happen after your physical evaluation. All in all, we should be done in about six or seven hours. Lunch is provided so don't worry about that. Just focus on doing well and good luck."

Iruka walked around the class handing out the papers. He finally reached Naruto's desk and placed the paper face down. A few moments later, the entire class had an exam paper and answer sheet in front of them. Iruka announced the beginning of their reading time and the sound of pages being turned filled the room.

The test seemed to be made up of multiple-choice questions as well as longer questions that needed more in-depth answers. Naruto skimmed over the multiple-choice questions and for the most part, he knew the answers right away. The longer questions would take a bit longer and since the test was quite long it was probably best for him to start with the longer questions. Iruka signalled the start of the test and Naruto went back to the start of the longer questions section.

_Explain the trainer ranking system.[10]_

Naruto's mind supplied the answer almost immediately. There were five trainer ranks starting at the bottom from D-rank and ending at the top with S-rank. All trainers are ranked whether they are battlers, co-ordinators or any other field directly related to pokemon. The most common way to progress up in rank is to beat other trainers in a battle. The battle has to be started by mutual consent and a trainer will gain or lose points depending on how many pokemon they knocked or how many of their own got knocked out as well as the rank of the opposing trainer.

Typically, the gain/loss margin per pokemon is one thousand for D-ranks, three thousand five hundred for C-ranks, ten thousand for B-ranks and fifty thousand for A-ranks. The margin for an S-rank is usually north of one million which results in making battles between S-ranked trainers extremely rare.

_Explain the qualification process for the Conference.[5]_

Naruto's pen flashed over the paper as he scribbled down the answer. A battler was required to obtain 16 official badges. Of the sixteen badges, eight had to come from the minor league and the other eight had to come from the major league. Badges are obtained from gyms and contests etc. but the Conference has a further ruling that to enter the Conference a battler needed to have won at least 4 minor competitions and 2 major competitions. Competitions often had various stipulations that differentiated them from normal gym badges.

However, all gyms and competitions held a rank that would be added to the Trainer's aggregate. This rank separated minor gyms and competitions from major ones and was added to the trainer's overall points gained in the qualification cycle from trainer battles. This allows new trainers to qualify for the conference and encourages tourism in the towns and cities that hold competitions. The Conference is usually 16 rounds of head-to-head battles that begins three months after the end of the last cycle.

The rest of the test was rather straightforward and while there were a few questions that gave Naruto pause he eventually finished with a half-hour to go. Once he handed his paper in he was directed to where the grading of the survival exam would take place. Saisho Academy was a battler academy and thus it was geared more to pokemon battlers than anything. This was why the physical exam, as well as the survival portion of the exam, were included. Battlers would spend weeks in the wilderness and not only did they need to survive, but their body had to be of an adequate fitness level to not put their lives at any more risk than was necessary.

Naruto was sure he would pass the test. He had to.

* * *

"And time!" said Iruka as Kiba slowed to a stop. The boy was covered in sweat and dirt and all sorts of other stuff. Kiba didn't appear too bothered by his appearance as he held his hands above his head to regain his breath.

"What was my time, sensei?" said Kiba as he calmed down, "Fastest in the class?"

"Three minutes and twenty-eight seconds," said Iruka as he glanced at the stopwatch, "You beat the closest time by a full two minutes. Well done, Kiba. You pass."

Kiba seemed to regain his energy almost immediately as he punched the air in victory. He thanked Iruka who gave him a water bottle and then Kiba made his way to the next student in line.

"You ready for this one?" said Kiba to Naruto as the boy went through a couple of stretches, "This shouldn't be too bad for you. You're not like the rest of these chumps."

"I think I'll do alright," said Naruto as he finished his stretches, "What's it to pass again? Seven and a half minutes?"

"Yeah," said Kiba as he closed his bottle," Anyways, the time to beat is three minutes forty. I'll give you one try to guess who smashed the course?"

"Is that all?" said Naruto as he made his way to Iruka, "Were you carrying bricks or something?"

Naruto did not give Kiba the pleasure of a retort and he instead made his way to the starting position. The obstacle course had been prepared outside the town proper and although they had been given various pointers on how to prepare, Naruto truly had no idea what to expect. It had been made clear that exposing what was ahead to anyone who had not yet gone was equivalent to cheating.

Cheating meant expulsion and could even lead to a permanent ban from becoming a trainer.

The class had been told to wait at the finish line because the obstacle course was visible from the starting line and those who went last would have an unfair and Iruka finally made it to the starting position and Iruka took out a pokeball before calling out a Kadabra. The psychic did not even spare Naruto a glance as the boy stared at Kadabra's face which was cool and almost seemed annoyed by the whole proceedings. Naruto spared a glance towards the course spread out before him. Before he could analyse the course for too long, though, Iruka finally broke the silence.

"Okay, Naruto," said Iruka as he held his stopwatch, "Seven and a half minutes is required to pass, but a better time will result in a better score. The record is one-minute forty that was set by Shinji Nakamura. Kadabra will Teleport me to the finish where I will mark down your time. Good luck. Your time starts in...three...two...one...GO!"

There was a flash of light as Kadabra teleported away with Iruka, but Naruto barely paid them any heed as he sprinted down the dirt road to the first obstacle. A rope was dangling from the side of a small cliff and Naruto grabbed onto the rope before making his way up. It took quite a bit of effort, but Naruto made it to the top of the thirty-metre cliff within fifteen seconds. He dropped the rope behind him and he grimaced as he took in the next obstacle.

A pool of water stretched far and wide across the ground and in the distance Naruto could see the next obstacle. Naruto dived into the pool and he tried to set a strong pace. It was all going well until suddenly the water seemed to begin fighting him. Naruto spared a glance in front of him and he was surprised to see Tsunami, Iruka's Empoleon, with its fins dipped into the water as he stood on the opposite end of the miniature lake.

Whirlpool.

The pull of the water rocked Naruto and he was pulled underneath the surface for a few seconds. Luckily, he was able to regain his bearings quickly and he fought valiantly against the crashing currents of the water. The whirlpool sapped Naruto of his energy, but in the end, he was able to make it across. Naruto was soaked to the bone, but he didn't let it bother him as he made for the next obstacle. Naruto slowed to a stop as he came to a sheer drop. The drop was even further than what he had climbed and the only way across was on a balance beam about ten metres long.

The beam was just wide enough for him to put his foot on. A fall would probably result in him being caught by the pokemon of the instructors that were undoubtedly watching his every step. A time penalty would also apply and while Naruto knew he was well ahead of schedule he would not allow himself to fail. This train of thought galvanised Naruto and he sprung into action. He stopped about ten metres away from the edge before taking a deep breath and sprinting to the edge. He heard the sound of instructors shouting his name and from the corner of his eye, he saw flashes of light which were probably the instructors calling out their pokemon.

Naruto reached the edge within a matter of seconds and he kicked off the ground as he began to soar through the air. A Pidgeot was swooping towards him, but Naruto barely paid that any attention as gravity began to pull him back to Earth.

"Holy-" shouted Naruto, but he was cut off as he slammed into the opposite cliff face. Naruto pulled himself up and shook off the pain in his chest as he sprinted towards what he hoped was the final obstacle. He reached it and to his surprise all it was a barren, downhill road through the forest. Naruto took off immediately and he smiled as he felt himself pick up speed. He was so going to smash Kiba's time-

Naruto was snapped from his thoughts when a medium-sized wall sprung up in front of him. Naruto was forced to slow down as he swerved around the wall. To his horror, more w obstacles began to appear from the ground. The road had just flattened out, but Naruto was forced to swerve, hurdle and jump as more and more obstacles rose in his way. Shuffling around spires, dodging walls and leaping over pits became Naruto's reality. To make matters worse, someone had ordered their pokemon to fire weak Bullet Seeds and Mud Shots at him that only served to distract him from the earthen obstacles in his way.

Naruto was covered in mud and bruises as he finally burst from the treeline and over the finish line where Iruka was waiting.

"And time! Students gather around!" shouted Iruka as Naruto finally slowed to a stop. The other students, all grimy and dirty from their time trial, surrounded Iruka and Naruto as the latter reclined on the ground.

"Okay, you guys are going to head straight to the sparring field where you'll be paired up against an instructor. The pokemon you use will be closer to that of a starter pokemon so it won't carry any slackers like the other pokemon you have used. The results will be announced after all battles have been completed and those of you who graduate will be able to choose their starter. Any questions"

Kiba raised his hand and all the students turned to him as Iruka motioned for him to speak.

"What was Naruto's time?"

Iruka looked at Naruto who nodded at the unspoken question. Iruka cleared his throat and said, "Naruto's time was...two minutes and fifty-two seconds. That's the fastest I've seen since I began to teach here, Naruto. Have you been doing some extra physical work?"

Naruto nodded as he rose to his feet, "Uh, yeah, my baa-chan helped me to get stronger and faster. She's a strong trainer. She won the Conference ages ago, but she's still good even though she isn't a trainer any more."

"Naruto has a grandma?"

"Bullshit."

"What's her name?"

This was quite the revelation for the students as Naruto never spoke about his family. Furthermore, he never came to any of the family functions the academy held. The volume of the students' voices began to increase as some of the bolder of the students began to interrogate Naruto directly.

"Save your questions for later," said Iruka as he came to Naruto's rescue, "You shouldn't stress out your classmates before the combat test. I'm sure Naruto will be more than glad to answer your questions once we're done here."

The students calmed down after that and Naruto smiled when Iruka winked at him. Naruto walked back with Kiba who waited for them to be out of Iruka's earshot before whispering under his breath.

"I heard we're all getting our starters today after the exam," said Kiba as his eyes darted around as if he feared being overheard, "Apparently the order we finish in will allow us to pick first."

"That kinda sucks for the guys that don't do as well, though," said Naruto as they set a rather brisk pace through the forest, "I mean the guys that do well already have a leg-up on them and now they have to pick last too?"

"That's the thing though!" said Kiba as a wide grin spread across his face, "The academy hired my mom and sister to make sure the starters are healthy. I overheard them speaking and apparently there's a real good selection this year. It's not just your usual fire-water-grass trio. There are psychic-types, fighting-types and even fairy-types. Apparently, some rich former student bankrolled the whole thing."

That was certainly a change from the norm. In general, a starter from the fire-water-grass trio was standard. This was more due to tradition than anything as these three types were said to be the most abundant in the days before the League. Different sections of Sanka had different traditional starters. For instance, the more affluent areas had Charmanders as their fire-type starter, one of the rarest of all fire-types, while the poorer regions had more 'mundane' starters like Cyndaquil.

This was due to the symbolism attached to these pokemon. Charizard trainers were revered for being able to tame a notoriously rowdy evolution line. Meanwhile, trainers of 'lesser' pokemon like Meganium and Empoleon were looked down upon. This attitude eventually changed once the Conference began which allowed all sorts of pokemon and their trainers to shine. Nowadays, it was far more common for a rookie to start with types from outside the usual three, but that tradition had not quite spread to Saisho until recently.

"What's the name of this donor anyways?" said Naruto as he and Kiba finally made it back to the town proper.

"Honestly?" said Kiba as he cleared his throat, "I forgot. All I know is he did quite well at a Conference a few years ago."

"Idiot."

* * *

"Come on, Pidove!" shouted Kiba as he faced off against an instructor, Kiyoko, from the academy and her Aipom, "Use Gust and blow that monkey away."

The Pidove seemed just as eager as Kiba and it chirped before flapping its wings. A strong wind blew across the ring and the Aipom was sent tumbling head over heels. Kiba smiled and while the Aipom was still struggling to its feet he gave his next order.

"Let's finish this! Quick Attack then Gust!"

Pidove flew up into the sky before it dove straight for the struggling Aipom. White energy trailed behind the bird as it sped towards its target.

"Revenge!" shouted Kiyoko before Pidove smashed into the Aipom. Pidove had retreated to the air once it made contact. However, Aipom had recovered and the hand at the end of its tails was wrapped in red energy.

"Hypnosis!" shouted Kiba sounding none too bothered with Aipom's counterattack.

Pidove's eyes released waves of energy that washed over Aipom. The aura surrounding it's hand-tail faded as the pokemon lost consciousness.

"Finish it off with Air Cutter!" said Kiba a smirk stretching across his face.

A stronger gust of wind rose as Pidove flapped its wings. The intensity of the winds increased and blades of white energy formed before they left shallow cuts on Aipom as it fell to the ground. Aipom was gathering speed as it fell and the Air Cutter only served to increase its velocity. Luckily, a red beam collided with Aipom as it was recalled by Kiyoko. Pidove flew back towards Kiba once its opponent had been withdrawn.

"Thanks, Pidove," said Kiba as the pokemon landed on his outstretched arm," You sure showed them!"

Pidove let out a series of tweets as it lapped up the praise before it was recalled by Kiba.

"Congratulations, Kiba," said Kiyoko as she made a few notes on her pad, "The trust you had in Pidove as well as the composure to tell her to use Hypnosis to defeat Aipom is exactly what we expect of trainers here at Saisho Academy. It was simple but effective. I'd get my bags packed if I were you..."

"Thanks, sensei," said Kiba as he handed her Pidove's ball, "Pidove just had good instincts, I guess."

"Don't sell yourself short," said Kiyoko as she took the pokeball from him, "Hana said you have a talent for battle. The pokemon is only one half of a winning team, after all. "

"I guess you're right," said Kiba as he smiled widely. Kiyoko bade the boy farewell before she began to walk up the stairs that lead back up to the viewing area. Kiba followed her as they left the sunken arena that was being used for the evaluation. There was a dustbin at the top of the stairs and Kiba reached into his pocket and took out a folded paper.

"Don't tell me you needed your info sheet for that battle," said Naruto as he walked past Kiba with a pokeball in hand, "You had aerial advantage. Let me see that thing."

"I won," said Kiba as he clenched his fist, "I didn't even need this stupid-Hey! Give that back!"

Naruto swiped the paper from Kiba and he hummed as he read the paper, "Hypnosis? That's an egg move. That Pidove must have had a Noctowl or something in its ancestry. Lucky you. I heard some of the others complaining about the move pool for their assigned pokemon after they lost. Rest? Swift? Those are TM moves. Some of the others would have killed for this."

"That's just too bad," said Kiba as he took back the paper from Naruto, "We all have prep time before our battles and you work with what you have. It ain't my fault they couldn't figure things out. Anyway, what did you get? Let me see. "

"No ways," said Naruto as he cradled the pokeball at his side, "I won't let you. You might put a curse on him or something. Stay away."

"How would I even-" said Kiba before a familiar voice interrupted their imminent argument.

"Naruto," said Iruka as he walked with another instructor by his side, "This will be your opponent. He's an instructor on an exchange program that we set up with the Konoha Academy."

"Konoha Academy?" said Kiba with his mouth hanging open, "Isn't that the snob-, uh, elite trainer academy. The one that like over half the S-ranks went to? "

"It is a little snobby," said the man as he chuckled and his white hair bobbed around with the motion, "My name is Mizuki and I hear you are quite the trainer Naruto...Uzumaki was it."

"Just Naruto is fine," said Naruto as he crossed his arms and did his best to ignore the probing stares of Iruka and Kiba, "Can we get this started? I kinda have plans..."

"Ah, yes," said Iruka before he gestured to the arena, "Have you had enough time to go over your info sheet? Mizuki is no slouch."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it," said Naruto as he handed the paper to Iruka before he began to walk down the stairs, "Let's get this show on the road. _Someone _has to show Kiba how to battle."

"Screw you!"

Naruto tried and failed to hold in his smile as he made way for the far end of the ring. Iruka and Kiba were watching from above and would be safe from any stray attacks. Mizuki reached the bottom of the stairs and the man still had a smile on his face as he took in Naruto. He unclipped a pokeball from his side before throwing it up into the air.

"Let's go!" shouted Mizuki and Naruto watched as the ball burst open in the air revealing Mizuki's pokemon. It was a bipedal pokemon that was grey and had three crests atop its head.

"A Machop?" said Kiba not sounding impressed at all from above his head, "Pidove would have swept that thing aside. You better win this, Naruto!"

Naruto ignored Kiba's provocation before calling out his pokemon. The energy released by the pokeball faded to reveal a green pokemon with a thick tail that was practically bursting with energy. The pokemon surveyed its surroundings with its yellow eyes as it crouched on all fours before Naruto called out to it.

"Treecko," said Naruto and the pokemon paused before turning to face Naruto, "Can you help me take out that guy over there? "

Naruto had pointed to Machop and the pokemon seemed eager for a fight as it made a gesture towards Treecko. Treecko's eyes narrowed at the sight of Machop before turning back to Naruto. Naruto smiled as the Treecko which Naruto was sure a male rose to stand on two feet before standing opposite Mizuki's Machop.

"Okay," said Iruka from above, "This is a one-on-one battle between Mizuki's Machop and Naruto's Treecko. The battle will end when one or both pokemon are unable to battle. This will be determined by a five-count."

Naruto tensed as silence hung over the arena and the pokemon also froze before Iruka voice shattered the silence.

"Begin!"

"Get in close with Quick Attack," said Naruto and Treecko shot off in a blur as white energy trailed behind it.

Machop seemed surprised by Treecko's speed and he took the brunt of the attack as Treecko smashed into him.

"Vital Throw!"

Naruto held back a flinch as Machop grabbed onto Treecko's leg before throwing him towards the wall. Treecko flew through the air and slammed into the wall harshly.

"Focus Energy," said Mizuki as he looked to press his advantage, "Then use Fire Punch!"

Machop's eyes seemed to glow with energy before its hand became enveloped in flames. Machop then shot off towards Treecko had just climbed out of the wall. Naruto waited until Machop was right in front of Treecko before giving his next order.

"Use Quick Attack to get out of there," said Naruto and Treecko sped out of the way as Machop's flame covered fist missed and slammed into the wall. The wall cracked under the strength of Machop's blow, but Treecko had escaped without a scratch. Machop seemed to have put far too much power in its punch and its hand was still embedded in the wall.

"Mega Drain!"

Thin, green tendrils shot out of Treecko's back before wrapping around Machop. Naruto smiled as Machop struggled against the draining attack even as it tried to wrench its hand out the wall. Machop finally managed to yank it's arm out, but the damage had already been done. Mega Drain had healed up the damage Treecko had sustained and Machop seemed to be on its last legs.

"Let's finish this! Treecko, use Double Kick!"

Treecko shot off towards the dazed Machop and delivered two bone-crunching kicks to Machop. Naruto smirked as it seemed like Machop was on its last legs until one word from Mizuki wiped his smirk off his face.

"Revenge!"

Machop glowed with red energy before it grabbed onto Treecko and slammed him into the ground. The ground shattered underneath the force of Machop's attack and the ground shook underneath Naruto's feet. A large dust cloud obscured the two pokemon, but it quickly faded away to reveal Machop standing over Treecko who was laying still in the crater. Machop flexed over Treecko's unconscious form before jumping away from the crater.

"Come on Treecko!" shouted Naruto as the pokemon laid in the crater, "You can do this!"

"For an Uzumaki that was very disappointing," said Mizuki as he looked at Naruto, "Your arrogance was your downfall and Treecko suffered for it. "

"Three," said Iruka suddenly and Naruto's heart sank as he realised this fight was almost over. Tears blurred his sight as Iruka's count reached four and in sheer desperation, Naruto shouted louder than he can ever remember.

"Come on, Treecko! I believe in you!"

A heavy silence followed Naruto's declaration as he slumped his head forward. Iruka was about to finish his counting and call the match when a croak sounded out from below. He paused and he was surprised by what he saw. Kiba sounded just as surprised from his position next to Iruka.

"How in the hell?" said Kiba as they both took in the sight of Treecko rising to his feet. Treecko was covered in bruises and looked like he had taken quite the beating (which he had), but he seemed like he had some more fuel in the tank.

Treecko's body seemed to glow with blue energy which faded away almost immediately. The croak had drawn Naruto's attention and he raised his head to see Treecko back on his feet.

Naruto smiled widely at the sight and said, "I knew you could do it. Now, let's finish this properly!"

Treecko nodded, but before Naruto could give any orders he felt a strange sensation wash over him. The source of it came in front of him as Treecko rose to its feet fully. Treecko held it's hands together and a blue sphere formed in its hands.

Naruto was stunned at the attack and so was Iruka as the instructor's voice echoed across the battlefield, "Aura Sphere? That's not a move-"

Iruka was cut off as Treecko fired the Aura Sphere at Machop. The attack slammed into Machop and exploded in a flash of blue. The light blinded everyone, but once it faded away it revealed Machop lying at Mizuki's feet. The battlefield was silent save for Iruka who began his count. Naruto waited with bated breath until Iruka _finally_ finished his count.

"Machop is unable to battle," said Iruka after a few more seconds of pause, perhaps waiting for another miraculous recovery, "The winners are Naruto and Treecko!"

"Alright!"

Naruto ran onto the battlefield before sweeping up Treecko in a hug which the pokemon seemed to return.

"You won, Treecko!" said Narutovas the small arms of Treecko wrapped around him. Kiba, Mizuki and Iruka had all come down to the arena and Naruto glared at Mizuki as the man came closer. The man had already recalled Machop and he came to a stop in front of Naruto and Treecko. The man met Naruto's gaze and there was a shift in the older man's eyes before it eased as he held out his hand.

"Good fight."

Naruto shook his hand before he walked past the older man. Treecko had perched its legs on either side of Naruto's neck and its hands were holding onto fistfuls of Naruto's hair for balance. Iruka was waiting for him with a clipboard in hand and he ticked off a few things before looking at Naruto.

"That was interesting, to say the least," said Iruka as he looked at Naruto, "You're lucky Treecko is a fighter, Naruto. You should have been warier of Machop. Arrogance has caused many a trainer to lose a battle. You_ are _good, Naruto. However, Mizuki made it to the quarter-finals of the Conference. There is no room for assumption, Naruto. If it were any other day, Treecko could have ended up a lot more hurt than some bruises."

Naruto had the decency to hang his head in shame and even Kiba was silent from the seriousness of the moment.

"However," said Iruka and he smiled as Naruto whipped his head back up, "Today was not one of those days. The bond between you and Treecko is something that takes a while to form between a trainer and their pokemon. You have a way of connecting with pokemon that will serve you well. However, you and Treecko have a long way to go before you're ready for the Conference."

"Me and-" said Naruto before cutting himself off, "I get to keep him? Really?"

"Yes," said Iruka as he took in the jubilant expression on Naruto's face, "All the pokemon used today were given to the academy by a former student. It's why they have moves from Technical Machines and some of the best egg moves. They were bred to be battlers. There are others that were not used, but I think the bond between you and Treecko could become something special. Unless you want to take a look at the others?"

"No, thanks," said Naruto as he reached above his head to rub Treecko, "I think Treecko is perfect. Do you wanna come with me, buddy?"

Treecko let out a shrill chirp to signify it's approval and Naruto smiled at the sound.

"I guess you can go home then," said Iruka before he added, "I'd take Treecko to the pokecenter for the night. It took a nasty blow at the end there. Don't forget to transfer Treecko to a new pokeball that's in your name. Will you two be taking part in the Konoha tournament? It doesn't give you a badge, but it's a good place to gain some points to add to your ranking."

Naruto and Kiba looked at each other before a smile spread across both their faces.

"I'm _so_ going to win that tournament," said Naruto and Treecko chirped in agreement.

"Oh really?" said Kiba as he picked at his nails, "I seem to remember _somebody_ made the mistake of getting hit with Revenge. Are you sure you're up for this?"

"Boys," said Iruka as he stopped the escalating argument, "You know the city rules. Battles are only allowed outside the city. So wait until you're on the road. Konoha is a few days away and the tournament is in about four weeks. It attracts more trainers than any other rookie tournament in Sanka. I'm sure you'll meet some trainers from some of the other big academies around Sanka. I'd recommend having at least three pokemon for the tournament. It's only open to unranked trainers so you shouldn't worry too much about the others."

"Won't all those posh, Konoha Academy students be there?" said Kiba before quickly correcting course, "I'm not scared, but that school _does_ have a reputation. Mizuki made it to the _quarters _of the Conference. They must have crazy strong teachers!"

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," said Iruka as he smiled widely, "Konoha is a fantastic academy, but Saisho is no slouch. As for Mizuki, I said he made it to the quarters, but I never said _who _knocked him out."

There was silence before understanding dawned on Naruto and Kiba at virtually the same time.

"You made it to the _semis?" _said Naruto in shock and Iruka nodded, "Why didn't you say anything? That would have made you, like, ten times cooler!"

"It was a long time ago," said Iruka as he and the two boys began to make their way to the Academy buildings, "In the end, I take more pride in my teaching than I did in my achievements in battling. That's not too say your goals are foolish or ignoble, but everyone is different. I know you guys are destined for great things. Just remember me and the rest of Saisho when you hit the big leagues."

"You got it, sensei," said Kiba and Iruka smiled at the two boys before he left them at the entrance to the Academy.

"You got pretty lucky," said Kiba and Naruto nodded immediately.

It was true. If Treecko had not learned Aura Sphere (and somehow survive that vicious Revenge) Naruto would have lost. There was still something bugging him about that fight. There was no way Treecko could learn Aura Sphere. Movesets was something Naruto took pride in knowing and he was pretty sure Treecko could not learn Aura Sphere. It was a very rare move that only a select few could learn.

Maybe the old pervert would know something to explain it.

"Treecko saved my butt," said Naruto his gaze on the ground before he turned to Kiba, "You wanna travel to Konoha together?"

"Sure," said Kiba as they turned to head back inside, "Let's get this stupid ceremony over with and then we can head leave tomorrow at like noon. You should come over to my place after we drop our starters at the pokecenter. My mom is in town and I'm pretty sure she'd like to know who I'm travelling with."

"I'll be there," said Naruto and as he walked behind Kiba a smile threatened to split his face.

Maybe Kiba wasn't so bad after all.

"I hope you don't cry when I knock you out the tournament," said Kiba as he walked with his hands behind his head, "Don't think I didn't see those tears earlier. That was weak, Naruto."

Okay, scratch that. Kiba sucked.

* * *

_Naruto Uzumaki_

_Rank: Unranked _

_Grade: D-rank_

_Points: 0_

* * *

_Jiraiya_

_Rank: #3_

_Grade: S-rank_

_Points: 93, 500, 000_

* * *

**Author Notes:**

**There is the first chapter of Herald done. Please tell me what you thought of the story. I love hearing from you guys. There is some admin past here and if your questions are not answered here you can ask them in the comment section. I'll either address you directly or address it in the story.**

**Some notes:**

**\- Sanka**

**Yeah, I know it doesn't exist. It was made for convenience. I don't want to do a trawl through the regions since I'm terrible at watching the pokemon anime. I only watch D&P, X&Y and some of Alola. Plus, this could be fun.**

**\- Characters**

**No one from the pokemon manga or anime. Sorry I guess?**

**\- Elements from the games**

**I understand that _a lot_ of people hate when something doesn't follow the games. Levels are _not _a thing. This would, of course, have a knock-on effect on things like evolution and learning moves. I have taken some elements from the games, but some like levelling, dynamaxing, Z-moves etc. are not a part of this story. **

**Realistically, the games just try to establish rules to make, well, a game. So a four-move limit for pokemon when Alakazam, for instance, is said to forget nothing makes zero sense. Imagine a game with no limit on moves? How would that even work? **

**Following the game religiously would make storytelling rather boring I feel**

**\- Format**

**I hope you guys like the change. The ol' 8 badges then Conference is nice, but I want to do something different. The ranking thing is shamelessly ripped from Bakugan, but I love that show and so should everyone else.**

**\- Movesets**

**These will be largely the same, but there will be logical differences that will be shown and explained.**

**\- Pokemon**

**I'm probably not doing the Ultra Beasts. I will, however, include all pokemon from all current generations. Even that weird Eternatus thing which is _dumb _strong. All 879 of them. Including Galarian and Alolan forms. They just won't be called that. I don't know if I can fit each and every pokemon, but yeah I'll try.**

**-Ship**

**Is this important? I've already decided who Naruto will end up with. It's not a pokemon. That is all. You can tell me who you would like to see him with and that could change it, but I won't say anything because I want to keep the suspense.**

**-Megas**

**Oh, definitely.**

**\- It vs him vs her **

**I'm gonna be straight with y'all. I can't be bothered to _always _use the correct pronoun for pokemon. I'll switch between 'it' and him/her depending on the gender of the pokemon.**

**-Travelling companion**

**It wouldn't be pokemon if Naruto didn't have a partner-in-crime. I already have one lined up, but rest assured a lot of characters from the show will travel with or meet Naruto at some stage.**

**If you stayed until now, you might as well keep reading the story. **

**Prayers to those of you in dangerous places all over the world. People are making memes about WWIII, but I hope those of you in dangerous areas stay safe. Regardless of race, nationality and gender, we're all human. I'm sure a resolution will be reached so don't worry. If worst comes to worst, you can come and live in South Africa. I _think_ we don't have any military alliances so _maybe_ we'll be fine.**


	2. Family

**Hey guys. Thanks for the response I got from the previous chapter. I was really surprised at the number of people that have subscribed to the story.**

**Also, thanks to all of you who reviewed the previous chapter. Call me a narcissist, but I love that you enjoyed the story thus far.**

**This is about 10 000 on the dot excluding author notes. Let's get to it.**

* * *

Kiba was pretty rich. That was the impression Naruto got looking at the area Kiba lived in. It was more of an estate if Naruto were being honest.

Naruto had never inquired about Kiba's family and Kiba had done the same. They were pretty good friends, but for all intents and purposes once school was out they went their separate ways. They did spend some time around Saisho with Akamaru occasionally and Naruto may have seen Kiba's sister once from afar and as far as he knew Kiba had never seen Tsunade, Shizune or wasn't worried about his parents being seen by Kiba or anyone for that matter.

They would have to be around for that to actually happen.

Naruto shook himself from the slippery slope of that line of thinking and instead addressed Kiba who had picked out his starter quite easily. Pidove had already been chosen by someone else so Kiba was not able to pick a pokemon he already he had a rapport with. The one he did pick was no less powerful than Pidove though.

"So," said Naruto as they walked through the busy streets of the estate, "Do your parents rob banks for a living? This place is huge. How did you get a pace here?"

"What?" said Kiba his face scrunched in confusion as he turned to Naruto, "We own this place. It's like a...family dwelling or something. You do know the Inuzuka family is pretty rich, right?"

"Sort of," said Naruto as he began to fiddle with the pokeball that Treecko was in. Pokemon were not allowed in public in Saisho unless you were an officially ranked Trainer. Naruto and Kiba were Trainers, but since neither of them has been in a battle yet then they were essentially civilians. The nurse at the pokecenter had been rather vehement in her warning.

"How long have you lived in Saisho?" said Kiba with just a touch of incredulity to his voice, "The Inuzuka family runs the most pokecenters and nurseries in the whole region. How could you not know that? I don't know how you've made it this far."

"I've only lived here for four years," said Naruto his voice raising slightly, "I knew all about the Inuzuka family, but in my defence, I thought your surname was a coincidence. They're all supposed to great doctors and battlers...you're neither of those things."

"Oh yeah," said Kiba as he came to a halt, "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?"

"What's the bet?" said Naruto confidently as he turned to Kiba, "How about 500 dollars?"

"No ways," said Kiba pointing a finger at Naruto, "That's too easy. I want something with more...pizazz."

"Pizazz?" said Naruto repeating the words back to Kiba with some disbelief in his voice, "What do you want as a forfeit? Break into the Academy? Eat 50 peppers? Be a bit more specific."

"No," said Kiba before he paused for a few seconds, "Yeah, not any of those. I was thinking something along the lines of cooking all the meals from here to Konoha. That sound good?"

"Fine," said Naruto as he held out a hand to Kiba, "When do we battle though? Treecko got given a couple of Super Potions, but I don't think he's up for it yet. How about midway to our first stop? It'll be a push, but I think we can make it to a town that's in Konoha's direction if we leave here at noon."

"Sounds good to me," said Kiba before shaking Naruto's hand, "Come on. I've got to get Akamaru checked out by my sister then you can meet my mom."

Kiba did not mention his father and Naruto decided not to ask. He'd probably get his answers soon enough.

"Hana!" shouted Kiba as he and Naruto came to a stop outside a building that was actually within Kiba's actual residence. The vast yard and house had drawn Naruto's attention for a few moments until they began to walk in the direction of the pokecenter and Hana's current location.

The inside of the building was somewhat similar to a pokecenter, but it had more modern decor and technology. Kiba had said it doubled as both a nursery and pokemon centre. However, unlike those scattered across Sanka, this one costs money to use and was often fully booked if Kiba was to be believed. In truth, all public pokecenters cost money, but this was taken from the stipend that regular trainers received from the League.

"Give me a second!" shouted a woman from somewhere at the back. A few seconds later, a young woman walked out with a white coat that was fully unbuttoned.

"Did you have to shout, dickhead ?" said who Naruto presumed to be Hana as she rubbed at her eyes, "You were louder than an Exploud, you jerk! I'm still sleeping off going through all those starters from-oh! Hello, you must be Kiba's friend. My name is Hana."

Hana had been jolted out of her tired state when she had laid eyes on Naruto. Now that she was closer, he could see that Hana was at the most 20 years old. Her hair was in a ponytail and a sheepish smile split her face as she seemed to remember her earlier words.

"Hi, Hana," said Naruto as he smiled at the woman, "My name is Naruto. The dumbass over here said he wanted you to check up on Akamaru. We passed our exams today and Kiba invited me over for dinner...if that's okay?"

"Well done on passing, guys," said Hana as she reached over to ruffle both of their heads, "Anyways, it's nice to meet you Naruto and I'm sure my mom won't have a problem with you being over. She always makes way too much food."

Suddenly, Hana took off her coat and she began to turn off the lights inside the centre.

"Aren't you going to look at Akamaru?" said Naruto and Hana shook her head.

"Kiba may be a bit of an idiot at times," said Hana which drew a sound of annoyance from her brother," However, I know he takes good care of Akamaru. I won't need to do that heavy of a check-up. Did you guys get your starters yet?"

Instead of answering, both Naruto and Kiba decided to let out all their pokemon. There were three flashes of light before they died down to reveal their pokemon. Treecko almost immediately scrambled up Naruto's leg before settling at the back of his head. There was a sharp bark from below and Naruto turned away from Treecko as he instead turned to Akamaru who was growling at a much shorter pokemon. It had blue streaks across it's back and had some rather sharp claws that it waved threateningly towards Akamaru.

Akamaru growled at the other pokemon, but the rising tension faded immediately after a sharp whistle from Hana. Akamaru bowed almost immediately and the canine looked downright terrified as Hana knelt to the ground. Kiba's starter had also been cowed by Hana and it cowered next to Hana who looked over it with a calm gaze.

"A Drilbur?" said Hana her gaze firmly locked onto Drilbur. She slowly reached out with her hand before rubbing Drilbur's snout. Drilbur leaned into Hana's touch which drew a growl from Akamaru. Hana stopped petting Drilbur and instead glared at Kiba.

"You need to be firmer with Akamaru, Kiba," said Hana as she rose back to her feet, "Rockruff are very rowdy. You need to nip this in the bud because things will only get worse when Akamaru becomes a Lycanroc. They're even worse."

"Yeah, yeah, You and mom have been lecturing me since I began training Akamaru," said Kiba before whistling sharply. Akamaru calmed down immediately and leapt onto Kiba's shoulder. Kiba unzipped his jacket slightly and Akamaru burrowed his way into his jacket.

"Akamaru listens to me when it's important though," said Kiba before stooping over to pick up Drilbur, "Tsūga and Akamaru will get on just fine. "

"Tsūga? That's a good nickname," said Hana before she turned to Naruto and Treecko, "Have you thought of a nickname for your Treecko yet?"

"I haven't yet," said Naruto as he reached up to pet Treecko, "Do you want a nickname?"

A series of clicks and chirps, as well as Treecko tugging on Naruto's hair, gave him his answer. Treecko did not want one or if Naruto was reading it right not yet. It confused Naruto but in the end, he decided to drop the matter. Treecko would probably tell him if he ever wanted one and that was okay.

"He said no for now," said Naruto to Kiba and Hana who didn't seem surprised by his revelation.

"That's what I thought he said," said Kiba as he motioned for Naruto to follow him as Hana locked up behind them, "Inuzuka are rather attuned with pokemon and we can usually understand them quite well. Iruka-sensei was right though. It usually takes at least a few days for you to begin understanding him. Are you sure you're not part pokemon?"

"I mean considering how you smelt after the obstacle course you have to be at least 50% Muk. Your skin isn't purple though so maybe fifty is a bit high."

"You are so going down tomorrow. I'm putting bricks in my bag just to make things harder for you."

Naruto was dead serious in his tone, but he couldn't help but smile when Kiba laughed before bumping his shoulder into Naruto's.

"Way ahead of you." 

* * *

The inside of Kiba's house was quite simple in design, but at the same time, Naruto could see everything was of high quality. There was a lot of open space which Naruto assumed was to allow the pokemon that stayed inside enough space to roam. The smell of something cooking was in the air and Naruto was suddenly all too aware of how hungry he was.

Kiba directed him to the dining room which had a large table and enough seats for at least 12 people. The cutlery and some food were already out and as soon as they took their seats an older woman walking with a casserole in each hand. The containers were filled to the brim with food and the intoxicating smell tortured Naruto even more.

"Kiba, who is this? Did you finally bring a friend over?"

Naruto bit down on his hunger and instead stood to greet the woman that towered over him. Her hair was untamed in a similar manner to Kiba's and she wore casual pants with a loose shirt. Naruto held out his hand to her and he was surprised when she grabbed onto his hand with a very strong grip.

"Good day, ma'am" began Naruto and he ignored Kiba's snort as he shook her hand, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm a friend of your son from the Academy. He invited me over for dinner if that's okay with you? Ma'am."

Kiba's smirk and muffled laughs had not done any wonders for Naruto and his introduction was way too formal and stiff. Luckily, Kiba's mom didn't seem to mind as she laughed before slapping him on the shoulder.

"It's good to see my son can actually build a friendship with someone," she said before adding, "It's nice to meet you, Naruto. You can call me aunt Tsume. You don't seem the type to be so formal and neither am I. "

Naruto relaxed after that and suddenly the task of getting through this meal did not seem quite as daunting anymore. He retook his seat and after a quick blessing from Hana they scooped up the food before digging in.

Kiba was rather animated as he regaled Tsume and Hana with what happened during the day. He didn't spare any details as he made sure they knew exactly what had happened at the Academy. Thankfully, Kiba didn't forget he was there and he pulled Naruto into the conversation a couple of times.

"Then Treecko used Aura Sphere and that smug douchebag from Konoha left," said Kiba between a couple of bites of food, "Naruto got super lucky, but I don't care. That Mizuki guy just really ground my gears. You should have seen his face!"

"Hang on," said Hana and her eyes widened, "The Treecko line can't learn Aura Sphere. At all. It's a rare move even amongst Fighting types. How did your Treecko use it? You sure it wasn't Focus Blast?"

"Focus Blast is an even stronger move, you tool," said Kiba and he ignored Hana's glare as he added, "Isn't that only common amongst fully evolved pokemon anyways? It would be like a Caterpie knowing Hyper Beam. I swear they let anyone become a doctor these days..."

"It was Aura Sphere," said Naruto stopping what was a likely argument between the two siblings, "Iruka-sensei himself said so and I'm pretty sure of it too. I don't think it's anything bad, though. I mean that just means Treecko is even more awesome than I thought. If there is something wrong then I'll check with my baa-chan when I see her again. She's a pretty good doctor too."

"Is there anything your grandma can't do?" said Kiba as he turned his fork in his spaghetti, "She's an athlete, Conference winner and a doctor. If I didn't know you better I'd say you're lying."

"I don't like talking about my family," said Naruto sounding only a little annoyed, "'Sides you've never asked me any questions about them."

"So I can ask about them and you'd answer?" said Kiba turning his body towards Naruto and he smiled as Naruto nodded.

"Okay, what's her name?" said Kiba and he ignored the warning look his mother sent him as she took her plate to the kitchen.

"Tsunade Senju," said Naruto calmly and he took a big bite from his food as Kiba seemed to pause.

"Senju? Where have-" began Kiba, but he was cut off by Hana who practically climbed over him.

"Tsunade Senju?" shouted Hana as she turned to Naruto, "Tsunade is your grandmother? She's the best doctor on the planet! "

"Oh she'd love you," said Naruto calmly even as Hana continued her rant.

"She's ranked like fifteenth in the world!" said Hana her voice still loud.

"Hana," said Tsume as she re-entered the room, "Kiba is looking a little blue. Please let him breathe."

That was enough to snap Hana out of her freakout and she looked embarrassed as she realised she had been clenching Kiba's neck the whole time. Kiba pushed her away harshly and took in a few breaths. Hana sat back down in her seat as Tsume sat down on the table.

"Mind telling me what I missed?" said Tsume as she looked at an embarrassed Hana. Kiba didn't let Hana get a word out as he pointed at his sister.

"Hana," said Kiba and his voice was still a bit gruff, "Freaked out when she found out Naruto's grandmother is Tsunade Senju. She's ranked pretty high and is some famous doctor or something."

"Is that so?" said Tsume and Naruto nodded as he put down his cutlery.

"Yeah, she is my baa-chan. Sort of," said Naruto as Tsume nodded in understanding, "My parents are busy so they usually get one of baa-chan or the pervert to look after me when they have the time."

"Hang on," said Hana and she had a rectangular device in her hand, "Tsunade is ranked eleventh, not fifteenth. I haven't checked these since I was still on my journey. Her last battle was about a year ago and she's the second highest-ranked woman in the world. Only behind a Kushina Uzumaki..."

"Uzumaki?" said Kiba as he turned to Naruto who was still reclined on the chair, "Is she like your aunt or something?"

"Stop bothering your friend, Kiba," said Tsume as she glared at her son, "Why don't you go wash up you and your friend's plates? "

Naruto smiled as Kiba begrudgingly rose and took their plates to the kitchen. Hana followed after her little brother and so only Tsume and Naruto were left in the room.

"Come with me," said Tsume and she walked off in a random direction.

Naruto was caught off guard, but he jogged to catch up with Tsume. They walked in silence as they took a turn down a corridor before finally stopping in front of two large wooden doors.

Tsume entered and Naruto followed after a few seconds to find himself in an office. There were a series of photos all across the walls and a large bookshelf that spanned the length and width of one of the walls.

"Don't mind Kuromaru. He's harmless."

It was then and only then that Naruto noticed an absolutely massive Houndoom reclining next to the wooden desk. Kuromaru cracked an eye open and stared at Naruto impressively before returning to his nap.

"What did you want to show me?" said Naruto as Tsume simply stared at the wall in silence. She did not answer at all and Naruto was about to repeat his question when she spoke.

"Look at this photo," said Tsume as she pointed to the wall. Naruto's curiosity was piqued and he walked over next to her to see what the fuss was about.

It was not what he expected.

"You know my parents?" said Naruto as he looked at a photo of his parents on either side of Tsume. The photo must have been taken a really long time ago as Tsume had a Houndour cradled in her arms.

"We all went to Saisho Academy together," said Tsume as her eyes gained a faraway look, "Your father was a transfer from Konoha Academy. He never knew his dad and when his mom died he had to come to live with his guardian in Saisho. I'm pretty sure you know who I'm talking about."

"You know the perv, uh, Jiraiya too?" said Naruto his voice relaying his surprise.

"I've known him since before you were born," said Tsume before she turned to face him, "I know you have some...issues with them and I know you haven't seen them for a while, but please let me speak."

Naruto's jaw tightened as the subject of his parents was brought up, but he nodded anyway to give Tsume permission to speak. It would have been shockingly rude otherwise.

"Your parents are two of the best Trainers and people I know," said Tsume her voice firm and strong, "Kiba's dad passed away around the time you were about to be born and your parents helped me get through that time in my life. I know it killed them and you having to bounce around from town to town for years before settling here in Saisho."

"They haven't been around since you guys moved here and I know it hurts you," said Tsume before resting a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "I just want you to know that the happiest I've ever seen them was when Kushina announced her pregnancy. Their jobs keep them away, but as their friend, I have to let you know that everything they've done, have done and will do is for you. "

"You're their greatest ever achievement and if they were here now I'd bet my life they'd be so proud of you. "

Naruto's head was bowed from the solemnity of Tsume's speech. He shook off the conflicting emotions in his chest and finally looked up to face Tsume.

"Thank you for this," said Naruto his voice just a little shaky, "I should probably get going soon. Jiraiya said he had something for me after the exam."

"He knows you're here," said Tsume her smile widening when Naruto tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"I sent him a message through my Tracer," said Tsume holding up a rectangular device similar to the one Hana had been using and Naruto nodded in understanding, "This is very outdated. It's functions have been incorporated into the newest pokedex like the one Hana has."

"It's expensive, but I wouldn't worry about that if I were you," said Tsume.

"After all, I'm sure Uzumaki Incorporated wouldn't mind having to procure a pokedex for the son of their CEO."

"Come on," said Tsume as she put her Tracer away, "I'm sure Kiba must be wondering where you are." 

* * *

"Say that again," said Hana to Naruto and Kiba who were seated in the living room with her mother, "You two want to travel all the way to Konoha together?"

"What's so bad about that?" said Kiba as he glared at Hana, "We'll take the safe route there. I strongly doubt there's any pokemon that could stand up to Akamaru, Tsūga and Treecko."

"Plus we both did really well in survival skills. Top two in the class," said Naruto as he pleaded their case, "It's also a lot safer to have another person with you and there are Rangers that patrol the more dangerous areas in case we run into trouble."

"So you two want to leave tomorrow?" asked Tsume and Kiba nodded.

"Yeah," said Kiba, "We want to get going immediately and we want to catch some more pokemon before the Tournament. I think we're in with a good chance of doing well. "

"Have you even planned your route through Sanka yet?" said Hana as she looked at the two boys, "Something tells me you guys won't stay together all that long."

"Well to be honest, " said Naruto after a glance at Kiba," We hadn't planned on travelling with each other after the tournament. "

"Yeah," said Kiba calmly, "It's not that we hate each other or anything, but we both want to strike out on our own. Maybe find some new people to travel with. It is what it is."

"Really?" said Hana her voice full of exasperation.

"Yes," said Kiba seriously, "Two alphas can't be in the same corral. It's a miracle mom and I have lasted this long."

Kiba and Tsume burst into laughter immediately afterwards and Hana did not seem amused. She simply shrugged at Naruto who had a smile on his face. The mother and son were still laughing until Tsume finally regained her composure.

"Okay," said Tsume wiping her eyes, "You guys can travel together. There's not much I could to stop you if I wanted to anyways. You guys should travel together at some stage, though. It's a good bonding experience. "

"Thanks," said Kiba and Naruto before the latter rose to his feet.

"I've gotta get going," said Naruto as he pointed to the clock, "It's getting to 7 something tells me I have a bright and early start to tomorrow. "

Naruto said his goodbyes to everyone and soon he was walking through the streets of Saisho to his home. Kiba's house was a fair distance away from his house and it took him about twenty minutes at the leisurely pace he had set.

Naruto had just stepped into the dark house when a couple of voices startled him.

"Surprise!"

There was a shadowy form nearby and by reflex Naruto punched out at whoever it was. The lights flashed on and Naruto looked down to see Jiraiya down on one knee as he clutched his stomach.

"Why do you hate me so much?" said Jiraiya his voice wheezy, "No more surprise parties. I'm just telling you that now. Stupid brat."

"Good hit!" shouted Tsunade a glass already in her hand, "I knew you would take well to my lessons."

Naruto looked around the room to see Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, Rin and most surprising of all–

"Congratulations, Naruto," said Kushina as she walked towards him from the back of the room.

The room was silent as Kushina came to a stop in front of Naruto. Her hand rose to scratch at the back of her neck as she spoke.

"Your father and I are still busy on our quest," said Kushina and she must have seen something in Naruto's eyes as she added, "Could we go talk somewhere private?"

Naruto nodded and he followed after his mother as they made their way to the backyard. It was very spacious and had served as a training ground whenever Tsunade felt the need to run him into the ground.

They finally sat down on a bench with a sizable gap between them. Kushina was quiet for a few moments and Naruto could practically feel her discomfort as she shifted ever so slightly. Finally, she gathered the courage to speak.

"You've grown so tall," said Kushina and she winced when Naruto's response hit her ears.

"That's what happens when you don't see someone for three years. "

The barb had just slipped from Naruto's mouth and despite Tsume's talk with him earlier it was a little too soon for him to just act like everything was okay. It was a little petty and he did feel guilty as he heard his mother's breathing catch just a little.

"I know," said Kushina and her head was looking down to the ground, "I'm sorry too. We've missed your entire time in the academy and there's no excuse for that. It's just–"

"Minato couldn't make it," said Kushina her voice trembling a little, "There's so much going on around Sanka. You may not see it now, but what we did was for the best. Everything we do is for you. That's why Minato stepped down from being Champion and also why I've stepped back a little from Uzu Inc."

"Are you back for good?"

"No," sighed Kushina, "The quest is–"

"Super important, " said Naruto cutting his mother off.

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds and Naruto stared up at the sky. The stars were out and the full moon was shining brightly. Naruto liked to read up on the cultures of old. There was a vast collection of stories from various cultures from the old world that Naruto loved to read through.

The full moon was a symbol of new beginnings in many a culture. Of course, back then they didn't know that it was just orbiting the Earth and would often disappear because of this, but Naruto could appreciate the symbolism.

"It hurt so much," said Naruto as he finally looked at his mother, "I love Tsunade-baa, Jiraiya, Shizune, Kakashi and Rin, but they're not you. It hurt seeing kids with their parents. I made it a point to never go to parties because I didn't want to answer questions about you."

"I prayed for the times when we would bounce from place to place," said Naruto, "I know it wasn't the best lifestyle for a kid, but being with you guys outweighed all the negatives. You guys left me here to go to the Academy and I vowed to myself that I would become as strong a trainer as possible."

"I was going to be better than you and Dad ever had been," said Naruto his finger making grooves on the bench, "I pushed myself to the max. I read countless books. I watched videos of famous trainers past and present. I trained with baa-chan and learned survival skills with Ji-chan until it paid off."

"I was always so tired and so lonely."

Tears had streamed down Kushina's face throughout Naruto's speech and her head hung in shame. So it was a surprise when Naruto pulled her into a hug.

"I can't say I'm not angry at you and dad," said Naruto as Kushina stayed completely still, "But I still do love and trust you. If this quest was important enough for you guys to step down from your posts then it must be because of something really important. There's a lot we need to sort out as a family, Mom."

"That doesn't change the fact that I still love you guys."

Kushina finally snapped out of her daze and she pulled Naruto into a tight hug. Naruto tightened his hold on his mom even as a few sobs began to wrack her body.

"Thank you so much, Naruto," said Kushina as she pulled away from him, "Aw man, I feel bad for everyone inside. They must be half asleep by now. Come on, let's go inside. I hope you still have space for cake. I know how much Tsume-chan likes to cook."

It was almost as of a switch had been flipped and his mother turned into the upbeat person she normally was. Naruto smiled and wiped the tears from his face as his mother began to pull him back towards the house.

He might regret it in the morning, but there was no way he was not eating cake tonight.

Hopefully, it was chocolate flavoured. 

* * *

"Okay Naruto, " said Rin as she held onto Kakashi's arm, "Why don't you open up our present first?"

The awkward mood that had settled on the party had dispersed when Naruto and his mother had walked back into the house. It was painfully obvious that Naruto and his mother's conversation hadn't been as private as they thought it had been.

The tear stains on Jiraiya's face were a dead giveaway.

In any case, normality had returned and after a few servings of cake, the time had come for Naruto to open the gifts that had been bought for him.

"This wouldn't happen to be a gym badge, would it?" said Naruto as he looked at the couple, "You know I hate double battles and so you got me a gym badge. That's great, but what about the EXP is that retroactive or–"

A throw pillow slammed into Naruto's face and he looked at Kakashi whose hand was still outstretched.

"Laziness will destroy you if you don't destroy it, Naruto," said Kakashi and Naruto rolled his eyes as Rin's smile grew wider.

The wrapping paper was off and Naruto was surprised to see an orange case with a slot on the side and six round indents on the top. There was a logo of what looked like a pokeball with a white line beneath it.

"You got me a TM case?" said Naruto and Rin nodded before handing over a plastic square. Naruto took them and he read the label on each of them.

"Double Team?" said Naruto and Rin nodded.

"Kakashi wanted to get you Flamethrower and Thunderbolt, but we figured you may not even use fire types or electric types so went for something more general."

"Thanks, guys," said Naruto as he pulled out an orange bag that was a holder for the TM case and had a multitude of slots for storing any other Technical Machines he may get in the future.

"I'll come on over to Horomoto City and use this to wipe the floor with you guys," said Naruto and the joke gained a few chuckles until Shizune rose from her seat to give Naruto her and Tsunade's present.

"It's a first-aid kit," said Shizune as Treecko laid in her lap fast asleep, "It's got Super and Hyper Potions, Full Heals and other stuff for whatever may befall your pokemon. I hope you paid attention to your first-aid classes at the Academy and with me or else that'll go to waste."

Naruto hugged Shizune before turning to Tsunade who was drinking sake straight from the bottle. She finally realised everyone was staring at her expectantly.

She rolled her eyes and reached inside her pocket before throwing something at Naruto. The object left a silvery streak of light before Naruto caught it deftly. He opened his hand and he was surprised to see a key in his hand.

"That's the key to the Senju ranch," said Tsunade as she reclined in her seat, "You probably need somewhere to keep the pokemon you catch and I've been looking to settle down a little bit. I guess I can look after your pokemon while I take some time for myself."

"Thanks, baa-chan! You're the best!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes at the nickname, but she didn't say anything further as Jiraiya spoke up.

"That was terrible, princess," said Jiraiya as he walked over with his gift in hand, "Storage space? I bet you forgot your actual present and just threw your spare key to the ranch at him."

Tsunade didn't respond, but the way she evaded Jiraiya's look answered the question sufficiently. Naruto knew that it was a great gift, but it was pretty nice to see Tsunade be the loser of her usual spats with Jiraiya. That was not how it went most of the time.

"My gift shits on all of yours," said Jiraiya as he held up a rectangular object, "I may have had to use my connections in Uzu Inc, but as a 27% shareholder in it I guess it wasn't much at all."

Naruto took the object and he examined the deep orange of the object as well as the red swirl at the top.

"Take in it boy," said Jiraiya as the object suddenly came to life with a soft tune, "That's the newest version of the pokedex. It has the best scanning capabilities of any dex before. A camera for rare sightings. Calling capabilities beyond that of any Tracer and of course in-depth knowledge on pretty much every pokemon on this content. Move pools, egg groups, locations and even sounds. It has a map that updates as our official maps do too. I call it..."

"The Ultradex."

"Can I just call it a pokedex?" said Naruto and Jiraiya pointed a finger at him.

"No!" shouted Jiraiya, "Do you know how much effort was put in that thing? I know S-rank trainers that would kill for that thing. There's only a hundred of them in production. Each of them would cost enough to make an A-rank bankrupt. You shall call it by its proper name."

Ultradex was actually a really good name, but there was no way Naruto would let Jiraiya know that. He would never let Naruto live it down.

"Thank you for your gift, Jii-chan," said Naruto and he smiled when Jiraiya calmed down immediately, "I'll put it to good use."

Finally, Kushina stepped up and Naruto turned to her. The air between them was less awkward then it had been for and while the idea of not seeing his parents again for who knows how long he couldn't find the energy to let that sour his mood.

"I know you already have Treecko and you really should think of a name for him," said Kushina but she shook her head and continued, "I decided to put some money in your trainer account so you can get some clothes and whatever else you may need."

"That isn't our gift though," said Kushina and she hesitated for only a moment, "It's practically tradition in our family to use a Greninja and the same way Minato got Gamakichi from Gamabunta, we thought it would be nice if you got to use the Froakie born from mine and Minato's Greninja."

"He doesn't have a nickname yet. You should think of one," said Kushina as she handed Naruto a pokeball, "I know you want to forge your own path, but it would mean the world to us if you allowed a little deviation from that. Please accept him. He's a–"

"Thank you, mom," said Naruto as he pulled his mother into a hug shocking her into silence, "I'm really grateful for this."

Naruto stepped back and he pulled out his ultradex (the name was growing on him) before letting out the pokemon inside. The Froakie took a look at its surroundings and it seemed frightened by the sheer amount of people until Naruto spoke to it.

"Hey there," said Naruto and the Froakie(which was quite a light shade of blue)turned to Naruto, "I'm starting my journey to be Champion tomorrow and I wanna know if you want to come with. We'd make a really good team."

Froakie nodded immediately and he seemed to calm down as he surveyed the room. Treecko had just woken up and he jumped straight from Shizune's lap to land in front of Froakie.

They seemed to have a conversation with Treecko making loud chirps and clicks while Froakie's croaks were very near to being inaudible.

"You should give them nicknames," said Shizune and she shrunk back a little as everyone looked at her sharply, "Nicknames are known to make pokemon happier and happier pokemon are stronger pokemon."

"That's true, " said Jiraiya, "None of my pokemon are weak and they're all happy."

"I'm pretty sure Gamabunta hates you," retorted Tsunade and as an argument rose up between the two Naruto instead looked back to Treecko and Froakie.

"Do you guys want a nickname?" asked Naruto and they both nodded. Treecko a lot more vigorously than Froakie.

"Okay," said Naruto as he put a hand to his chin, "What about Apollo for you Treecko and Shinobi for Froakie."

Treecko or rather Apollo accepted his nickname immediately and it took Froakie a few more seconds before he nodded.

"Shinobi?" said Kakashi his voice barely audible over Jiraiya and Tsunade's argument, "What a truly unique and awe-inspiring nickname. Such creativity has never before been seen and I doubt it ever will be."

"Didn't you nickname your Dusknoir Cyclops?" said Naruto.

Kakashi was silent for a few seconds before he said one word.

"Touché." 

* * *

Naruto walked slowly to his room with the gifts he had been given in hand. He put them down on his desk and he was about to lie down when a knock on the door surprised him.

"I see you're pretty much already packed," said Kushina as she stood in the door her arms behind her back.

"What's wrong?" said Naruto as he sat down on his bed. His mother stepped into his room, but she remained standing.

"I have two more gifts for you," said Kushina, "They're not as extravagant as the others so please don't get your hopes up."

Kushina brought her arms in front of her and Naruto was surprised to see what she was holding.

"This scarf was bought by your father for me when we were still on our journey together," said Kushina as she allowed Naruto to take the long red scarf, "It's made from actual Ampharos fur. It keeps you cool in the heat and cosy in the cold. "

"This," said Kushina holding up a white and red bag, "Is what I got him after his first bag tore. It's great quality and lasted until he became Champion. I don't know if you like scarves, but the bag is definitely useful. It once took a Flash Cannon head on and it was still okay. It was from an Aron, though. Still great, but I don't want you to start using it as a shield."

"Thanks, mom," said Naruto as he took the items and put them down on the ground, "Do you know when you'll finish up with the quest?"

Kushina shook her head and Naruto pushed down the kernel of disappointment in his chest. He wasn't about to blow up at his mom. They had ten great years together and three terrible years apart.

This was their first time together in years and he wasn't going to ruin it.

"I understand, " said Naruto, "You guys should stay safe I know how you guys get careless. Just hurry back so I can kick your asses in a battle."

"Language," warned Kushina, but her voice lacked any real heat, "You should keep Apollo and Shinobi in their balls tonight. They're a bit unaccustomed to you so that's for the best."

"I will," said Naruto stifling a yawn before laying down on the bed, "Goodnight Mom."

"Goodnight, Naruto," said Kushina once her son's eyes had closed.

Her voice was cool and collected and so Naruto did not open his eyes. If he had then maybe he would have seen the tears forming in Kushina's eyes before she turned the light off and shut the door halfway. 

* * *

"Is this really necessary?" said Naruto as Tsunade hovered over him with a stethoscope in hand.

"You know I get paid thousands to do these check-ups and you're getting one scot-free?" said Tsunade before moving the head of the stethoscope, "Okay now breathe in."

They had been at this for over half an hour and Naruto would need to leave soon for some last-minute administration. It was almost as if his mind was read as his mother walked in before dropping a card attached to a lanyard on his lap.

"There's your Trainer ID. Iruka sends his best wishes," said Kushina and she sat down near the two, "Funnily enough, Tsume was at the academy too and we managed to catch up a little bit. I'm going to visit her before I leave."

"Oh," said Kushina as she dug in her pockets before pulling out two pokeballs, "Remember to always have your Trainer ID with you. You can't buy any items or challenge for badges without it."

"Don't forget how to start ranked battles either. You just need to–"

"Have a licensed third party officiate the battle. They're most commonly found near to or at pokecenters," said Naruto as Tsunade finished her check-up.

"Keep to the safer routes. Apollo and Shinobi aren't strong enough to bail you out. Ghost types like Haunter and Gengar lurk in the deeper parts of the Halo Forest. They won't be of much help against them. "

"You don't have to use ghost types to scare me. That doesn't work anymore," said Naruto as he rose from his seat.

Naruto looked at his mother who weirdly enough was not smiling anymore. Instead, her face had a look of horror as she pointed behind him.

"Nice try," said Naruto as he turned around, "I don't–What the hell!"

Naruto tripped back and fell as he looked into the red eye of Cyclops – Kakashi's Dusknoir. The noise attracted a lot of attention and Kakashi ran into the room looking surprised before he returned Dusknoir.

"Sorry about that," said Kakashi as he helped a grumpy Naruto to his feet, "Cyclops is usually really well-behaved. I don't know why he'd sneak up on you like that. How long did it take you to notice him? "

"I didn't notice him," said Naruto as he checked over all of his belongings, "Mom did, but I thought she was pulling my leg. You should really keep an eye...on.. him."

"For the last time, this eye works perfectly, Naruto," said Kakashi as he pointed to the one that had a scar over it, "Hyūga and Uchiha Industries worked together on it. They're good at what they do. Itachi was kind enough to bankroll it too."

"I still can't believe you beat the Champion in a battle," said Naruto as he pulled his dad's bag on. It was a good bag. It had way more space than the one he had been planning to use and the red flames at the bottom were awesome.

The white was going to be a pain to keep clean, though.

"I was 17 and he was 12," said Kakashi idly, "It was way too close. 6-3. I lost then, but I knew he was going to shoot past me eventually. "

"You may see him," said Kushina as she joined the conversation, "Konoha is a very rich city. That's due to the amount of old money based there. The Inuzuka have strong links to it and so do the Uzumaki. "

"Didn't you guys have a class on the current economy of Sanka?" said Kakashi, but Naruto shook his head.

"No," said Naruto, "They really focused a lot more on battling and pokemon than anything. We may have gotten a brief run-through, but that was at least two years ago."

"It's important, "said Kushina, "You need to know these sort of stuff for when you take over the company. "

"I guess you're right," said Naruto before he looked at the clock, "I've got to head out with Kiba. We want to make it to one of the towns en route to Konoha before dark so I gotta head out."

"Let me call everyone, " said Kakashi and he walked out the room leaving Naruto and his mother.

Kushina pulled Naruto into a tight hug and said, "You've got a gift, Naruto. I've heard it from Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi and even Tsume. I have full faith that I'll see you at the Conference. Just know that no matter what you do, Minato and I will always be proud of you."

"I know, Mom," said Naruto as he returned the hug, "I know." 

* * *

"I thought you were about to bail on me," said Kiba as Naruto walked up to the fountain in front of the Academy.

"You think I'd lose the chance to curb stomp you and make you carry my bag?" said Naruto as he fist-bumped Kiba, "Clearly you don't know me at all."

"Whatever, " said Kiba as he walked past Naruto, "The nearest town is Forest's Edge. If we go that way though we'll have a straight shot through the safer part of Halo Forest and we can catch some pokemon for the tournament."

"I saw that on the map, but there are other routes with more town on the way to Konoha," said Naruto as he followed Kiba. The academy was near the periphery of Saisho which was what made it a good spot to kick off their journey from.

"Yeah," said Kiba, "Those routes barely have any wild pokemon because of those towns. We may have to rough it for a couple of nights, but we can get some really good pokemon. Plus, there's like 3 pokecenters not too far off the route we'll take."

It was a fair argument. Towns and cities did tend to repel wild pokemon away except for those that thrived in urban areas like Rattata and Zigzagoon. Naruto also wanted to catch another pokemon just to round out his team a little.

"That's alright with me," said Naruto and he followed Kiba as they reached the edge of Saisho. Naruto turned back and looked at the bustling town.

It was finally time to begin his journey.

"Oi, Naruto!" shouted Kiba, "We're running out of daylight. Saisho will still be here when we're out there."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he walked towards Kiba. Kiba had stopped walking and once Naruto was next to him he said five words that Naruto couldn't agree with more.

"This is gonna be awesome!" 

* * *

"This is not awesome," said Kiba as he walked through the woods with Naruto in front of him.

They'd set a harsh pace and had ploughed through the Saisho forest. They had been doing well great even until they had been forced to take a detour. Apparently, some battle had severely damaged the route ahead.

The sign had said it was impassable by foot and due to a lack of any flying pokemon, they had to take a route which was not only steeper but increased their journey by two hours.

"There hasn't even been any pokemon for the past couple of hours," said Kiba as he drank out a water bottle, "Why the hell not?"

Naruto could understand Kiba's frustration. He felt the same way, to be honest. Saisho was a speck in the distance and still, there were no pokemon. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon and Naruto knew they had half an hour before it sat completely.

"That battle must have spooked off a lot of the pokemon," said Naruto, "If it was as bad as they said then it must have been between two crazy strong people."

"That's for sure," said Kiba until a caw from the treetops drew their attention. Kiba and Naruto both looked at each other before Kiba shouted, "Dibs!"

Naruto cursed under his breath before shrugging off his back, "Let me see if my dex got that. I set auto-record on so let's see what we're dealing with."

Naruto took out the dex and he was glad to see a notification on the screen.

"Pokemon detected?" said Kiba as he peeked over Naruto's shoulder, "Holy shit. This thing is fancy. Wanna change the details for the bet?"

"No ways."

"You suck," said Kiba before he tapped on the notification. A brown bird with spiky feathers appeared on the screen and Kiba smiled.

"A Spearow?" said Kiba as he took out Akamaru's pokeball, "Don't mind if I do."

The cawing sound emanated again. This time closer to the ground and the two boys looked around until they saw it hopping along on the ground.

"Wish me luck," said Kiba before releasing Akamaru, "Come on Akamaru. Bite."

Akamaru didn't waste a second and as soon as his feet hit the floor he was off in a blur. The Spearow was on alert as soon as Akamaru came out and it was able to brace itself before Akamaru bit into it.

Akamaru flipped back after hitting Spearow and waited for additional orders from Kiba. Spearow, on the other hand, looked upset and instead stood it's ground as it flew a few feet in the air.

Spearow let out a shriek before shooting towards Akamaru. Its body began to spin rapidly. A brown aura wafted off of its body and Naruto raised a brow as he recognised the move being used as Drill Run.

"Sand Trap!"

Akamaru obeyed and began to kick up a large amount of dust. Naruto raised his shirt to cover his mouth as the dust spread towards them and he shook his head as Spearow dove into the cloud.

"Spearow have excellent vision, Kiba," said Naruto, "It won't miss."

"I know," said Kiba and Naruto was about to push for an answer when a howl reached their ears.

Akamaru was sent flying out of the dust cloud, but he had somehow managed to bite onto Spearow. Kiba smiled at the sight before giving his last order.

"Thunder Fang!"

A sparkle of electricity formed around Akamaru's mouth. A second later it bit down harder on Spearow who let out a shriek before it's body began to convulse. Akamaru spat out Spearow who crashed into the ground.

Akamaru landed near Kiba who already had a pokeball out that he threw towards the unconscious form of Spearow. The ball bounced off of Spearow before sucking it in with a red tendril of light. The ball shook only once before letting out a ding.

"That's what I'm talking about," said Kiba as he picked up the pokeball Spearow was in, "I'll call you Yari."

"That was a pretty good move there," said Naruto as he picked up his bag, "The sand distracted Yari and Akamaru was able to latch onto Yari's body. We need to head on out to Forest's Edge. Electricity really messes with the nervous system of birds. "

"Thanks," said Kiba before returning Rockruff, "You're right. I'll change the pokeball's setting to Suspend. It'll only last for four hours, but that should be enough. "

Naruto and Kiba both set off and now that they had something motivating them they were able to set an even higher pace than earlier. Unfortunately, a couple of pokemon had begun to appear some that had been enticing to catch, but in the end, they had let them be.

It was late evening when they finally made it within the vicinity of Forest's Edge and while Kiba handed Yari and Akamaru over, Naruto paid for a two-bed suite.

They were supposed to split the bill, but Naruto's mom had put enough in his account to last him at least a few months. Of course, he still had to buy some more clothes and who knows what else may crop so, in reality, it wouldn't last nearly as long.

It was possible to win money from trainer battles, but both trainers had to agree to the stipulation and the amount beforehand. A lot of naive trainers had been duped back when it had been compulsory to put money on fights and that was a part of the reasoning for the stipend being introduced.

Now trainers had a way of gaining money without having to fight against other trainers. The amount was enough to scrape by but was practically a small fortune the higher your rank was. Naruto had peaked at Tsunade's books the other day and he swore he had never seen so many zeros before.

"We only have one room left," said the attendant as he held up two keys, "It's a three-bed, but I won't charge you extra. You just might have to room with a stranger. Don't worry, though. The third bed is separate from the other two."

The attendant at the desk gave him two keys and Naruto thanked him before walking towards Kiba. He handed the key over to Kiba and they walked in silence as they made their way to their room.

"Thanks for paying for the room," said Kiba as he threw down his bag, "I'll pay you back later. "

"Don't worry about it," said Naruto as he laid down on his bed, "You feeling hungry? "

"Oh yeah."

"Wanna go see what's still open? It's barely past seven. I bet they're still a lot of restaurants open."

"Let's do it."

The two boys climbed off the bed and walked back out to the front. They were about to step outside when Naruto heard the attendant from earlier call out towards them.

"There they are now!" said the attendant waving them over. Kiba looked at Naruto in confusion who just sighed heavily.

"Come on," said Naruto as he motioned for Kiba to follow him, "Let's meet our new roommate."

"Our what? There's no way I'm letting someone crash in our room."

Naruto ignored Kiba's indignation as they walked over to the rental counter. The attendant was speaking to someone who was in the back room with the nurse and Naruto was surprised when a girl around their age walked towards the rental counter.

"These are your roommates for the night," said the attendant, "A lot of people head up to Konoha so we're usually fully booked. Sorry for the inconvenience, guys. "

"It's okay, " said Naruto and the girl at the same time and they looked at each other for a second before Naruto spoke.

"Hello," said Naruto as he took in the girl's white clothing and green hair, "My name's Naruto and this is Kiba."

Naruto held out a hand and the girl shook it as she said, "Nice to meet you. My name's Fū. Were you guys about to head out?"

"Yeah. You should join us," said Kiba as he shook Fū's hand, "The name's Kiba. Kiba Inuzuka. Are you a trainer?"

"I am," said Fū and her voice was rather soft, "Chōmei and Naka are in the back. I caught Chōmei today and he and Naka really did a number on each other."

"Chōmei? Naka?" said Kiba in a confused tone that so fake Naruto rolled his eyes, "Are those new pokemon?"

"No," said Fū as she smiled a little, "Naka is my Chimchar. is the Heracross I caught."

"You caught a Heracross?" said Naruto drawing the attention of the other two, "No wonder Naka's hurt. They're really strong. You must be a pretty good trainer."

It was true. The truth was not all pokemon were equal. There had been an attempt to quantify strength, but it had been abandoned. Strength was something far too complex to accurately measure or force to fit a mathematical system.

During the study, there were many inconsistencies. For instance, a Turtwig would be found to be stronger than a Grotle despite them being the same age and having the same battle experience.

That was only one of many problems they had encountered and while some headway had been made the project had been abandoned. One thing that was certain, though, was that pokemon that did not evolve were said to generally be amongst the strongest.

Evolution was a result of pokemon having to become stronger to survive and there were some pokemon like Heracross that were so strong it never became necessary for them.

"Thank you," said Fū softly and she seemed to hesitate before saying," I'll see you in the room."

"Why don't you come with us?" said Kiba, but Fū shook her head.

"I wish I could, but I wanted to freshen up and then check on my pokemon, " said Fū.

"That's okay," said Naruto as he turned away slightly, "I guess we'll see you later."

"Yeah, later."

Naruto and Kiba walked to the doors leaving behind Fū who made way for the stairs. They walked out into the town and they were relieved to see it still buzzing with activity. It was probably a result of this being a pretty popular stop for Trainers.

"Fū's seems pretty nice," said Kiba as they walked through the streets, "In terms of roommates, we could have done a lot worse."

"She's pretty shy though," said Naruto as they came to a stop in front of an open-air restaurant that thankfully served pokemon too, "I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see or hear her for the rest of the night."

"You're probably right," said Kiba before walking into the restaurant, "Come on, we've got an early day. Unless you're too scared to battle?"

"You wish," said Naruto as he followed the other boy inside, "You're so going down tomorrow and you're paying for the food. "

"I thought you said not to worry about it."

"That was before you called me scared."

"Oh, screw you!"

Kiba had no real heat behind his words and Naruto smiled as the boy shoved past him.

"Go get us a good seat! I'm heading to the bathroom."

Naruto sat down at one of the outside tables and he watched the streets as various people walked through them. There were probably a couple of Trainers here tonight who he would face in a battle someday.

The idea lit a kernel of excitement within Naruto's chest. This was his first time exploring on his own. No teleporting around Sanka with his parents, but actual exploring on foot come wind, rain or snow.

There were millions of other trainers that were gunning to get to the Conference, but that didn't scare him at all. He was going to make the Conference. There was no other option.

"Excuse me," said a voice and Naruto turned to the waitress who had a notepad, "May I take your order?"

Naruto scanned the menu and he smiled as his eyes landed on the bottom of it. Kiba was going to lay an egg when he got the check.

"Could I have the lazy-aged steak with fries and a milkshake?" said Naruto before adding, "Also could I have two pokemon meals to go? Anything that would be okay for a water-type and a grass-type?"

"We've got just the thing! I'll be right back!"

Suddenly, Kiba walked past the waitress and he gave her an order of his own before sitting at the table. He seemed to notice something was off as he looked Naruto.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing," said Naruto as he feigned a yawn, "I'm just feeling a little tired."

"Yeah, today was rough. Anyways, I saw this meal that looked great so I got one. Did you get something good?"

"Yeah," said Naruto barely refraining from smiling, "Wait till you see it. "

"You'll flip. " 

* * *

_Kushina Uzumaki_

_Rank: #9_

_Grade: S-rank_

_Points: 65, 000, 000_

* * *

_Tsunade Senju_

_Rank: #11_

_Grade: S-rank_

_Points: 58, 500, 500_

* * *

_Kakashi Hatake_

_Rank: # 13_

_Grade: S-rank_

_Points: 53, 000, 000_

* * *

_Rin Nohara_

_Rank: #211_

_Grade: A-rank_

_Points: 4, 200, 000_

* * *

_Naruto's team:_

_Apollo, a male Treecko._

_Shinobi, a male Froakie[Shiny]_

* * *

_Kiba's team_

_Akamaru, a male Rockruff_

_Tsūga, a male Drilbur_

_Yari, a female Spearow_

* * *

_F__ū's_ team

_Naka, a female Chimchar_

_Chōmei, a male Heracross_

* * *

_Others:_

_Kuromaru, Tsume's Houndoom_

_Gamabunta, Jiraiya's Greninja._

_Cyclops, Kakashi's Dusknoir_

* * *

**Author Notes:**

**There's the second chapter of Herald. This was a lot harder to write than the first chapter, but I think I made it work.**

**Naruto meets the Inuzukas. Has a heart-to-heart with Kushina, gets a Froakie and meets Fū. **

**I'm gonna be honest with y'all. **

**Is a Froakie cheesy for Naruto? Yes. Do a lot of people do it? Yes. Am I gonna stop that? Hell no.**

**If there is one pokemon that fits Naruto Uzumaki then it is definitely a Greninja. I mean seriously. A ninja frog that can make clones of itself and launch a giant shuriken as an attack. **

**If that's not derivative, I don't know what is. **

_**Anyways,**_** thanks for reading and feel free to drop reviews. I love hearing from you guys. This is also being cross-posted on AO3 if that's more your jam.**

**P.S. I am making a map of Sanka that I'll make available for you guys. I can't draw what Naruto or anyone else is wearing. Sorry, but these hands are not artistic.**


	3. Stalker

**9.5K words. That's good enough, right? **

* * *

"That was so not cool, " said Kiba as they walked away from the restaurant, "That steak cost 200 dollars. You should have given me a warning or something."

"The room would have cost you the exact same amount," said Naruto holding a bag of takeout, "Besides, how was I supposed to know you'd fall out of your chair and flip the table?"

"Whatever, man," said Kiba, "I hope you got your all laughs in because there's no way I'm buying you anything ever again."

"All this over a steak?" said Naruto as they turned I to the street with the pokecenter, "I thought our friendship meant more than that."

"That was before you made me make a fool of myself in front of that waiter! Let's not get into this now. You should head on up to the room I wanna check on Yari and Akamaru."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he walked past the automatic doors of the pokecenter. Apollo and Shinobi had both chosen to eat at the restaurant and while the two had been eating, Naruto had decided to get something for Fū.

The girl had seemed pretty frazzled and she probably wouldn't have left the centre before she got confirmation that her pokemon would be alright.

If they wanted to get through the next couple of hours peacefully then having a happy roommate would probably help.

Naruto reached the door of their room and he opened the door slowly as he clutched the takeaway bag in his left hand. Fū must have already been in her room because the room was devoid of any life.

The bathroom lights were on and Naruto walked inside to switch them off after putting the food down on his bed. Once he was inside, he noticed that the mirror and glass walls of the shower were all covered in steam.

"Did she just take a shower?," said Naruto as he connected the dots and as if to confirm his suspicions he slipped on a puddle of water.

Naruto fell to the ground hard and a stream of curses left his mouth as his head spun. The cold water sank into his clothes and hair causing Naruto to groan in annoyance.

"Thank goodness nobody was here to see that," said Naruto before pulling himself up into a sitting position.

Unsurprisingly, the noise must have attracted the attention of Fū who opened her door and rushed out with a baton in her hand.

"Who the–Naruto?" said Fū her tone changing from aggressive to confused as she took in the sight of her roommate, "Are you okay?"

Fū had changed into sweatpants and a long-sleeve shirt, and her hair was still clearly damp from her shower. Naruto waved off her concern as he stood up and made his way to his bed.

"Yeah," said Naruto shaking off the last effects of the hall, "I wanted to switch off the bathroom lights, but I slipped on some water."

"Sorry about that," said Fū sounding a bit embarrassed, "I was going to clean up, but I kinda fell asleep on my bed. You coming in woke me up."

"That's okay," said Naruto before his eyes drifted down to the baton still I'm Fū's hand, "Were you expecting someone else?"

Fū followed Naruto's gaze and she looked away from him as she said, "I kinda forgot that I was sharing this room. It's been a long day. Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," said Naruto before snapping his fingers, "Oh yeah. I figured you'd be pretty hungry so I got you some food from this restaurant. It's a burger and some fries. If their steak is anything to go by you're gonna love it."

Naruto held out the paper bag and Fū looked stunned by the turn of events. Finally, she took the bag from Naruto and smiled at him.

"Thanks. I am feeling pretty hungry. Today was hectic."

"Same here. Kiba and I had to take a massive detour on our way from Saisho. Some massive battle trashed the route we were gonna take. It added a couple of hours, but Kiba was able to catch Yari so it's not all bad."

"Yari?"

"That's his Spearow. He has two other pokemon. Akamaru is his Rockruff and Tsūga is his Drilbur."

"He already has three pokemon?" said Fū as she and Naruto sat on opposite ends of his bed, "He's moving fast..."

"I guess so," said Naruto, "I have two like you, but Apollo, my Treecko, was my starter. Shinobi is the child of my parents' Greninja and my mom gave him to me just yesterday. "

"Those are some pretty strong pokemon," said Fū her voice rather low in volume, "Your parents must be proud of you."

"I hope so," said Naruto softly his tone becoming calmer, "Their jobs keep them super busy so I never see them anymore, but I like to think they're proud of me. What about your parents? Were they trainers too?"

"I don't know," said Fū stuttering over her words, "I'm a ward of the League. I got placed to live in some small town in eastern Sanka. I lived in their orphanage until I was 9. I can't even remember that much of my time there. I just remember being the loneliness."

Fū's story was as sad as it was sobering. Naruto was frustrated by how little he got to see his parents and yet there were others like Fū who never got the chance to meet their own parents. It caused a few emotions to bubble up inside him that he really didn't want to get into.

However, just as Naruto was about to speak a wide smile spread across Fū's face. Tears had begun to leak from Fū's eyes, but thankfully Naruto had nothing to worry about as she wiped them away.

"Sorry about that," said Fū once she regained her composure, "I don't really like speaking about that time in my life. It sounds bad, but things really did get better. I signed up to become a Trainer and I got sponsored to go to the Taki academy by its gym leader. She took me under her wing and she even gave me Naka when I arrived. She taught me almost everything I know about pokemon. "

"She sounds awesome," said Naruto and Fū nodded as her eyes seemed to stare off into space.

"She was."

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Kiba walked with a wide smile on his face completely unaware of the sombre mood of the room. The sound of the door hitting the wall jolted the other two occupants of the room and Naruto growled before throwing his pillow at Kiba's face.

"What the hell?" said Kiba as he snatched it out the air before he turned towards Naruto and Fū, "What the hell was that for, you jerk. I just wanted to tell you to get ready because tomorrow you're going down."

"First of all, you're making a lot of noise, dog breath," said Naruto and he smirked as Kiba threw his pillow back at him, "Second of all, you're the one going down tomorrow. There's no way I'm going to lose to you."

"In your dreams, Naruto," said Kiba before he noticed the confused look in Fū's face, "It's Fū, right? I'd never forget the name of someone so–"

"Okay," interjected Naruto as he clapped his hands, "That's enough from you, Kiba. Go grab a shower and rest up. I don't want any excuses for when you lose tomorrow. I need to get some practice in before the Konoha tournament and you should be a decent challenge. "

Kiba looked ready to blow a gasket, but he was once again cut off as Fū spoke up her voice laced with surprise.

"You guys are going to the Konoha tournament?" said Fū as she looked at Naruto, "I'm entering as well. I heard about it from a friend and since I was in the area to catch Chōmei. So you guys are headed into the forest tomorrow?"

"Yeah," said Kiba as he flopped down onto his bed, "Our sensei said it would be a good test for us and that we should have at least three pokemon for it. I can't wait to stick to it those cocky city jerks. What do you think the prize for winning will be? Maybe a Beldum or Dratini? I'd prefer a Larvitar, but I mean..."

"It's nothing that big," said Fū her face showing her amusement, "I think second and third place get an evolution stone of their choice."

"That's actually not bad," said Kiba and Naruto agreed with him fully. Evolution stones were either manmade or found in nature and were imbued with a specific type of energy.

Whenever certain species of pokemon came into contact with these stones then it would cause then to evolve. They were rather rare and even artificial ones would cost the average trainer quite a lot of money.

"I'm glad you're happy with those, Kiba," said Naruto and he battled to not smirk as he added, "Those are great prizes, but since I'm coming first I'm sure they'll have something better to give to me. If it's a TM I might let you use it, Kiba. Maybe it'll help you catch up to me."

Fū sensed an argument was going to rise up between the two and she rose to her feet, "Calm down, guys. You guys still need to get a lot of training in before you can even think of winning. Konoha Academy is really good. I'm sure a lot of their students will be entering and you shouldn't underestimate them."

As much as Naruto hated to admit it, Fū was right. There were going to be hundreds of other Trainers all vying to win and they really had to start grinding down now if they wanted to have a shot at winning.

"Hey Kiba," said Naruto as he turned to the other boy, "Let's delay our battle. I need to catch another pokemon soon and I'm sure there'll be some Trainers in the forest who we can challenge instead. The three of us need to get to Konoha as soon as possible. They have a Trainer Hall where you can practice moves and challenge other Trainers so it'd help prepare us better."

"Fine by me," said Kiba, "I already have three pokemon so I'm just going to focus on getting some drills and combos right. We can face each other a few days before the tournament instead. Anyways, I'm going to hit the shower. I'm beginning to feel a bit ripe."

A few seconds later and Kiba had grabbed his towel and a change of clothes before getting into the bathroom. Not long after, the sound of running water filled the room as Fū and Naruto sat in comfortable silence.

Fū was pretty much done eating and once she threw the wrappers away Naruto suddenly sat up in his bed.

"Hey Fū," said Naruto as he sat in his bed, "Do you wanna travel with us to Konoha? You're already entering the tournament and the Halo Forest is pretty dangerous. It'd be a lot safer in numbers."

"You want to go with me? " said Fū and she seemed genuinely surprised by the question before finally nodding her head, "I guess you're right. The Forest is dangerous and you guys seem pretty cool. I'm in. What time do we head out?"

"That's great. This is gonna be awesome! We should probably wait for Kiba to get out before agreeing on the details, though. He can be a bit of a pain."

"Who can be a bit of a pain?" said Kiba as he walked out in his sleeping clothes his towel hung over his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," said Naruto before adding, "Fū's going to travel with us to Konoha. We need to hammer out the details and make sure we're ready to hit the road when it suits all of us. "

The three Trainers discussed their options and due to things like having to stock up on some supplies and having to wait for Naka and Chōmei to recover.

Naka and Chōmei should be fully healed early in the morning and the stores would be open so they could get whatever they needed for their trek through Halo Forest. The forest was immense and easy to get lost in according to his map. It was said to take about four to five days to get through to Konoha from Forest's Edge on the safe route.

Naruto's Ultradex told him that there were also two pokecenters if they ran into serious trouble. Naruto still had Shizune's first-aid kit so short of a serious injury then they would be fine. Unfortunately, the centres had no rooms so they would be roughing it for a while.

"Okay," said Naruto as he rose from his bed, "So I'll stock up on supplies for all three of us while you guys wait for your pokemon. It's gonna be a rough couple of days, but we'll be alright. We should aim to leave by half-past eight."

"Fine by me," said Kiba before yawning, "I'm feeling pretty beat. Is that all or can I go to bed?"

"Ugh, fine," said Naruto and his shoulders dropped further when Fū also let out a yawn, "Goodnights guys. I'm going to shower so the bathroom will be busy for a couple of minutes. See you in the morning. "

A few minutes later, Kiba and Fū were asleep and Naruto made sure to be extra quiet as he changed into his sleeping clothes. It was only as his head hit the pillow that he realises just how tired he was and barely a minute later Naruto was fast asleep.

* * *

"Ow!" shouted Kiba as he clutched his finger, "Did you really have to bite me, Yari? Maybe I should just let you starve."

"I told you it was a bad idea," said Naruto as Apollo sat behind his neck, "You haven't built a rapport with Yari yet. It would be dumb to get that close that soon."

"Shut up, nerd."

The barb had no real heat in it and Naruto and Fū both laughed at the misfortune of their companion. It was already their second day of travelling through Halo Forest and despite Kiba's best efforts, he hadn't quite bonded with Yari.

The Spearow was quite fierce and she had made it clear that she still had a bit of an issue with her defeat. It had only gotten worse when Akamaru had been able to take her down without using Thunder Fang at all this time.

"I think Yari is just feeling a bit annoyed that she lost to you and Akamaru twice already, " said Naruto and the bird let out a low squawk, "I wouldn't worry too much, though. She's been on your shoulder for the entire day and she's only bitten you twice. If she had a real issue with you she would have flown away."

"I guess you're right," said Kiba calmly before his voice suddenly rose, "What I don't get is why you and Fū have had no issues with Shinobi and Chōmei. Is it just me?"

The two mentioned pokemon were walking ahead of the group and seemed to get along quite well. For the past couple of miles, Shinobi had been perched on the horn of Chōmei who barely seemed to notice the added weight at all.

It was interesting to watch as Shinobi managed to keep his balance even as Chōmei switched from walking on its feet to all fours and even flying through the air. The Heracross was very upbeat and seemed to have no issues with Naka who had decided to stay in her pokeball.

"That's not our fault," said Naruto as he turned to Kiba, "Besides, Tsūga loves you already. I haven't caught a wild pokemon yet so we have to wait and see until then. As for Fū, maybe she's just got a way with pokemon?"

"That's not quite true," said Fū as she rubbed the back of her neck, "I once got attacked by a Geodude when I was in the academy. That really scared me."

"What did you do to it?" asked Kiba out of curiosity and he was surprised when Fū, in a massive departure from her normal behaviour, growled under her breath.

"Nothing! I just don't like Rock types! Or Dark types! Or Steel types! I've had a few bad experiences is all. Why are you making such a big deal about it?"

"Okay," said Kiba slowly as he exchanged a glance with Naruto, "Don't tell us what you did. The truth always comes out, Fū...It would be better if you just told us now that way you can–"

A beep from Naruto's dex cut Kiba off and the three of them halted in their tracks. Naruto fished out his dex, but he let out a sigh as he read the notification out loud.

"Inconclusive, " said Naruto as he swiped with his finger, "Somehow, it could be anything from a Skitty to a...Mamoswine?Thanks a lot, Kiba. Your voice broke my pokedex."

"How is that my fault?"

Naruto ignored Kiba's indignation as he called for Shinobi. The forest had a lot of Bug and Flying types so Apollo would be on the back foot in a fight. Plus, Naruto hadn't really had a chance to use Shinobi in a fight. Other than scanning his moves and ability he had no experience with using Shinobi.

"Okay, Shinobi you're up," said Naruto and in a show of athleticism and bravado Shinobi sprung into a spinning backflip before landing right in front of Naruto.

Akamaru and Chōmei retreated to their trainers and so Shinobi had the space to move around. There wasn't much space, to begin with, as trees were littered all around them, but Shinobi had already proven to be dexterous and Naruto was sure he could handle whatever it was.

Suddenly, the sounds of leaves being displaced emanated from above them before a grey blur swooped down towards Shinobi.

"Use Water Pulse," said Naruto and Shinobi obeyed as he shot a concentrated sphere of water to his target.

The attack connected head-on with the attacker stopping its attack cold. The pokemon retreated to the air where it's identity was revealed as it let out a loud screech.

"A Starly?" said Naruto as he took in the pokemon, "That's awesome! Alright, Shinobi use Water Pulse again! Rapid-fire!"

A flurry of small, but quick Water Pulses soared through the air as they homed in on the Starly. Starly was able to avoid the first few, but then got hit by three spheres in a row.

This seemed to set it off and it began to rapidly flutter its wings kicking up a large cloud of dust. Naruto shielded his eyes from the massive Sand Attack, but he was still able to give Shinobi an order.

"Dodge with Quick–"

A loud cry interrupted Naruto's order and he was dismayed to realise that it came from Shinobi. The cloud of dust died down and Naruto looked back at the battle just in time to see Shinobi roll to a stop.

The bubbles around his chest had burst and he seemed a bit disoriented, but he recovered quickly. Shinobi hopped back up to his feet and turned back to Naruto clearly having shaken off Starly's Quick Attack.

Naruto had to get creative here. Too many Water Pulses would tire Shinobi out and Starly would pick him off easily. Starly would keep blowing through Shinobi with Quick Attack who lacked the type coverage to–

"That's it," said Naruto as he snapped his fingers, "Go after Starly, Shinobi!"

Shinobi sprang into action as he bounced off various branches and tree trunks until finally he was within striking distance. Starly had been tracking his movements and as the Froakie jumped off one last branch it sped towards its airborne target with a Quick Attack.

"Lick! Then use Water Pulse!"

"What the hell are you thinking, Naruto?" said Kiba as the two pokemon bore down on each other, "That move won't work on–What the hell?"

Kiba's query was cut off by himself as he took in the sight of Starly flying straight through Shinobi as if he wasn't even there. The Froakie turned in the air and bounced off a branch before jumping towards a confused Starly.

"Awesome, Shinobi!" shouted Naruto and he took out a pokeball as the Froakie fired a Water Pulse at a stunned Starly.

The attack hit Starly dead-on who began to twirl towards the ground. Naruto expanded his pokeball before throwing it at unconscious pokemon. The pokeball opened and sucked Starly inside it with a beam of red energy.

The ball only shook once before it dinged signifying a successful capture. Shinobi landed next to the pokeball and he picked it up before throwing it towards Naruto who caught it deftly.

"Thanks, Shinobi. You were awesome!" said Naruto and Shinobi nodded once before closing his eyes as a jubilant Chōmei and Apollo as well as a reluctant Yari went over to him.

"What the hell was that?" said Kiba as he thrust a finger in Naruto's face, "Starly should have mowed down Shinobi, but it went through him like he wasn't even there!"

It was Fū who answered Kiba as she stepped between the boys, "That's the special ability of the Froakie and Kecleon line, Protean. It changes the pokemon's type to the move it's about to use and since Lick is a Ghost-type move—"

"Quick Attack did not affect him," finished Naruto as he minimised Starly's pokeball, "Froakie has no moves that would be super effective on Starly so I had to improvise a little."

"Huh, " said Kiba, "I should brush up on abilities more something like that would be pretty useful. If you keep this up then maybe you'll stand a chance of making it after all. Anyways, let's hit the road. We've wasted enough time already."

Kiba walked off leaving Naruto and Fū behind who smiled at Kiba's impatience. They walked off after him as he led the charge while their pokemon stayed in between them and Naruto Fū who were bringing up the rear.

"I'm surprised you got it so quickly, " said Naruto as he put Starly's ball away, "I only remembered he had it because I scanned him and Apollo with my pokedex."

"It's nothing really," said Fū as rays of light from the afternoon sun snuck in through the canopy, "I read a lot about pokemon in my free time. They also showed a lot of old battles on TV and I saw something similar happen, but that with a Cinderace instead. I'm pretty any decent Trainer would know that."

"You shouldn't sell yourself short," said Naruto glancing at her only for a second, "I don't know if you've noticed, but Kiba and I aren't exactly the most humble guys around..."

Fū let out a short laugh causing Naruto to smile, "A bit of an understatement, but still. You've got to back yourself. If you don't believe in yourself then who will? Your team feeds off your confidence and they work hard for you. Doubting yourself would only let them and yourself down."

Fū didn't answer and the silence hung between them for a while before she finally responded, "You're right. I shouldn't sell myself short. This has been my dream since I was a kid and there's no way I'll start doubting myself now. "

"That's the spirit," said Naruto before stepping up his speed, "Let's catch up with Kiba. You still need a third pokemon and with the way he has been walking he's probably scaring everything off."

Fū followed after Naruto as they recalled all their pokemon before running after their overly eager companion. Kiba was walking a lot faster than either of them had expected and he was barely visible through the trees.

They eventually caught up with the boy and as a casual conversation began to flow between the three of them, not one of them noticed the pair of eyes watching them from the treetops.

* * *

"Wow, Naruto," said Kiba as he ate from his plate, "I'm seriously considering travelling with you throughout Sanka just for your cooking. This is great."

"Enjoy it while it lasts," said Naruto as he finished up with his own plate, "It's your turn for the next two nights so you better make sure we don't die from whatever you cook up."

"Don't worry," said Kiba as he put his plate down and stared into the fire, "What I'm gonna cook up will make your food taste like cardboard. Isn't that right, Akamaru?"

Akamaru yipped in agreement from his position a little away from the campfire. The other pokemon were all gathered in a circle eating except for Starly who was separated from both Trainers and pokemon.

Naruto put his plate down and approached the pokemon who other than a wary gaze ignored his presence as she went back to eating her food. Starly and Yari had both chosen to hunt for their food and it had been nerve-wracking waiting for both Kiba and Naruto as they half expected their newest pokemon to flee.

In the end, they had worried for nothing and they returned with a couple of Rattata and berries. Yari seemed to have warmed up to the rest of the team, but Starly understandably would take more time.

"Sorry about that earlier," said Naruto and Starly only looked up once before returning to pecking at her food, "Do you want to join me on my journey? I'm out to become the greatest Trainer and I'll need your help with that. What do you say?"

Communication with pokemon was a curious thing. The vast majority of pokemon seemed to understand what humans were saying without much of an issue. This connection only seemed to deepen the more time a Trainer would spend with their pokemon.

It seemed as though in the same way pokemon could freely understand and communicate with other pokemon of various species, they were also able to communicate with humans.

It was one of the most confusing things about pokemon. Scientists were completely befuddled when pokemon raised in complete isolation from humans and pokemon would still be able to communicate freely.

The experiments had been deemed too harsh and had been shut down before much headway could be made. It wasn't something Naruto really thought about, but in moments like these where he could see Starly react and process what he said it was hard not to be reminded of those studies.

"Plus you'll get to fight Shinobi again."

That seemed to do the trick as Starly let out a chirp and spread its wings. Naruto smirked as the bird pokemon flew onto his shoulder as they walked back to the campfire.

Kiba had gone somewhere and in his place was Fū who had returned from the forest and she turned towards them as Naruto sat down in his earlier seat.

"Kiba said he had to go...uh...freshen up," said Fū with some hesitation before she took in the sight of Starly on Naruto's shoulder, "So you've managed to work out your differences?"

"Yeah. Starly and I are ready to take on the world," said Naruto before snapping his fingers, "I need to think of a nickname for her. Do you want a nickname?"

Starly let out a high-pitched whistle and Naruto cleaned out his ear before saying, "Okay, so you do want one. What about Zephyr?"

Starly's distaste was evident as she leapt off Naruto's shoulder before landing at his feet. She tried to peck at his feet and Naruto pulled them back before any harm could be done.

"Okay," said Naruto as he looked at an amused Fū, "Zephyr is off the table. What about Ajax?"

This time Naruto wasn't fast enough and Starly pecked him on the ankle before letting out a screech. Naruto hissed at the pain before rubbing his ankle in pain.

"Those names are great, you psycho!" said Naruto as he glared at an annoyed Starly, "Zephyr means wind and is also the name of–"

Starly leapt towards Naruto again, but she halted in her actions as Fū spoke up.

"What about Wisp?"

To Naruto's surprise, Starly didn't immediately reject Fū's suggestion and instead she flew over to the girl and waited expectantly.

"Seriously? You want her to pick the nickname? "

A happy whistle was his answer and Naruto sighed.

"That's not a problem, is it?" asked Fū as she took in the sight of a disappointed Naruto, "I kinda said the first thing that came to my mind."

"It's not your fault," said Naruto smiling at Fū before scowling at Starly, "Someone just doesn't want one of my awesome nicknames, but it's all good. Maybe you can satisfy the diva over there."

"What about Diva?" said Fū half-heartedly dismissing the idea immediately.

Starly let out a chirp before flying into the air. It flew around in a couple of intricate patterns, drawing the attention of the other pokemon. Starly soaked up the attention before landing in front of Naruto.

Apparently, Starly quite liked that name.

"That's the one you want?" said Naruto and Diva let out another chirp, "Well if the boot fits..."

"What's this about a boot?" said Kiba walking back into the clearing.

"Starly thinks Naruto sucks at giving nicknames," said Fū, "So she asked me to give her a nickname."

"Makes sense," said Kiba as he watched the newly christened pokemon fly over to the other pokemon, "He either goes too literal or too flashy. Sometimes simple is better, you know?"

"Tell me how you really feel, guys."

Naruto's dry response only caused his companions to crack up even more at his expense. After a long while, from Naruto's point perspective, they finally calmed down and they moved onto other topics.

It was a very casual mood and it made Naruto forget that they were in fact in a forest filled with dangerous pokemon. It was something they only remembered as all three got into their sleeping bags in preparation for going to bed.

"Who's on fire duty?" said Naruto and he was met with silence from Fū and Kiba, "Oh come on guys...I cooked today. Again!"

"You know how it goes," said Kiba, "You were on the last shift last night so that means you're on the first tonight. Anyways, goodnight Naruto! Wake Fū up next! I need my beauty sleep. "

With that said and done, Kiba turned away in his sleeping bag and Fū smiled sympathetically before returning to sleep. Naruto grumbled under his breath as he rose from his sleeping roll and made his way back to the fire.

Only a few of the pokemon had decided to sleep under the stars. Namely, Apollo, Naka and Akamaru. The rest were all in their balls waiting for morning. Naka and Akamaru were fast asleep, but Apollo seemed to awaken as Naruto sat down on a log near the fire.

"Hey, buddy," said Naruto as Apollo came to rest in his lap, "I kinda got the short straw tonight, but that's the last of it I swear. Only two more days left in this damn forest and I swear we'll walk through the night until we reach Konoha."

Apollo let out a low chirp and it seemed as though he was already succumbing to the call of sleep. Apollo barely weighed anything and Naruto smiled as his starter seemed to snuggle even closer to him.

Apollo was by far the most affectionate of all his pokemon. Shinobi tried to keep up a dignified appearance at all times and Diva was a bit too much of a snob to get close with him.

Damnit...Diva was a good nickname...

Naruto didn't let that get him down, though, and instead he took out his Ultradex. It rarely left his pocket and it was proving useful to him. It had the most common move trees for all pokemon and this allowed to figure out what to focus on.

Apollo had Quick Attack (like most agile pokemon), Double Kick, Mega Drain and finally Aura Sphere. The Sceptile line was renowned for their sheer speed and propensity for physical special attacks.

In a way, Apollo and Shinobi were similar in that they were both fast and heavy hitters, but didn't have much going for them in terms of defence. This would only be an issue at the beginning as these weaknesses would fade as they grew stronger.

Naruto can still remember Gamabunta taking a Zap Cannon from his father's Alakazam. Somehow, Gamabunta had pushed through it before finishing off Alakazam with a wicked Night Slash.

In the end, his father had beaten Jiraiya 6-5, but that had opened Naruto's eyes to the sheer skill and power S-rank pokemon and their trainers had.

Top-tier S-rank trainers had pokemon that had these quirks that set them apart from any other. Jiraiya's pokemon all seemed to have unreal vitality and defences while his father's pokemon were all blindingly quick.

There were other examples, but that wasn't what was important. What was important was that Naruto had to make his own pokemon stand out in a different way from usual and Apollo was his inspiration for what his niche would be.

It wasn't going to be easy, but Naruto had full faith in his current and any future members of his team as well as himself. They weren't going to fail because failure wasn't an option.

Naruto was about to return to his Ultradex to look through some more stuff when a sound from the forest drew his attention. Apollo sat up immediately as he scanned the area for any signs of life. A second later, Apollo took off in a random direction and into the dark woods.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Naruto ran after Apollo who seemed to be doing his level best to tear a path through the forest. Apollo was far and away faster than Naruto, but the trail he left behind made it easy to track his starter through the forest.

The chase continued for a few minutes before Naruto was forced to a stop. Apollo was standing in the centre of a small clearing and it was only now that Naruto could see the red haze present in his starter's eyes.

Hypnosis.

Apollo must have been lured here by one of the Ghost-types that skulked through the darker parts of Halo Forest. Ghost types weren't intrinsically evil per se, but those that grew up in the wild were known to be unsavoury, to say the least.

Apollo seemed to have grown tired of standing still and he tensed for a second before collapsing in a heap. Naruto rushed to Apollo and he breathed a sigh of relief once he saw that Apollo was fast asleep.

The sound of wood snapping drew his attention and Naruto knew he was screwed. His camp was too far away for Fū and Kiba to hear him much less reach him in time and whatever was out there was about to take its pound of flesh from Naruto.

"Okay, Naruto," said the boy to himself as he wildly looked around, "Just because Apollo got hit with Hypnosis doesn't mean a Ghost-type is stalking you. There's tons of other pokemon native to this forest that can learn Hypnosis..."

Naruto's panicked voice pierced the silence and it was probably the only thing keeping him from freaking out completely.

"Pidove can learn Hypnosis," said Naruto as he returned Apollo to huis pokeball, "Ralts too. Uh, Hoothoot and Noctowl. Politoed? Wait they're not native to here..."

There was still one indigenous pokemon that could learn Hypnosis and it was the one option that Naruto liked the least. Suddenly, Naruto's Ultradex let out a beep notifying him of a pokemon's presence.

A chill ran down his spine and as Naruto turned towards the source of the cold he was greeted by the red eyes of a pokemon he had been praying to not see.

"...Gengar..."

Fully evolved pokemon were rare in the wild and were absurdly powerful. Gengar were known to take a maddening amount of time to evolve from Haunter and it was said they evolved by absorbing spiritual energy from their prey leaving them dry and hollow husks to wither away.

The Gengar seemed to bask underneath his fear and the smell of noxious fumes were released as it let loose a bone-chilling cackle. Naruto was about to just make a break for it when suddenly Gengar's eyes flashed red.

Naruto felt his body begin to fall to the ground before he was caught by the wispy arms of the Gengar. As he lost consciousness, the last thing he felt was a sharp pain in the neck before everything turned to black.

* * *

"Oi. Wake up."

Naruto groaned as he felt something nudge him in the side. Naruto waved it off and simply turned away from the disturbance to his sleep. It seemed as though whoever was bothering was persistent and Naruto was forced to slap the offending limb that kept poking him.

"Ow! That hurt, you jerk! You wanna play hardball? Fine, let's play! Akamaru, use–"

"No!" said a voice and as his mind rose from the daze of sleep, Naruto was able to place them both. Fū and Kiba sure were making a racket. Didn't they know Naruto was dead tired?

"Naruto," said Fū as she shook him softly, "It's already 7. We're supposed to leave in 10 minutes. The more time you sleep, the more time we'll end up spending in this stupid forest."

That seemed to do the trick as Naruto finally opened his eyes and he was greeted by Fū kneeling over him while an annoyed Kiba stood a little bit away.

"Oh man," said Naruto as he stretched his arms above his head, "Don't worry, guys. I'll get dressed super quick. Please help me pack my stuff? Sorry but we gotta hurry."

It was a promise that he kept and within two minutes Naruto had changed into his spare clothes. His timing was perfect as it coincided with Fū and Kiba packing away the last of his stuff.

Kiba tossed his bag at him and despite its heavy weight, Naruto caught it quite easily. He put his old clothes in there and it was only then that he realised Fū and Kiba were already ready to hit the road.

"How long did you guys try to wake me up?"

"Around ten minutes," said Kiba as they cleaned away the last of their traces from their campsite, "Fū woke up for her shift and she found you fast asleep by the campfire. She had to cart you over to your sleeping bag and apparently you haven't moved since she dumped your lazy ass."

"Why were you so tired?" said Fū as they finally hit the road, "You even fell asleep in your shoes. Do you need time to rest?"

Naruto shook his head and he tried to remember what happened last night, but he was drawing a blank. It was like clutching at sand. He could only remember bits and pieces of last night.

"I could have sworn a pokemon got in our camp last night," said Naruto and while his voice started off sceptical it slowly grew in confidence.

"Really? What pokemon?" said Kiba curiously, "The fire didn't chase them away?"

"No wait," said Naruto his brow scrunched in confusion, "Apollo got drawn to the woods and I chased after him. That's it...I followed him into the woods before he stopped in some random clearing. "

"Are you being serious?" said Kiba his voice relaying his scepticism, "You sure this wasn't a dream or something?"

"I don't think so," mused Naruto as he stopped walking, "The last thing I remember was a beep from my Ultradex then a flash of red."

Naruto stopped walking as he rubbed the back of his neck, "It was so surreal. I don't even remember what I got attacked by or how I got back to the fire."

"Maybe Apollo would know, " said Fū and Naruto smiled at her before withdrawing Apollo's pokeball.

Apollo appeared in a burst of light and Naruto wasted no time getting down to business, "Apollo, do you remember anything weird about last night?"

The usually playful pokemon seemed to sense the gravity of the situation and thought back before shaking his head in the negative. Naruto slumped in disappointment before recalling his starter.

"Thanks, Apollo."

"Hey, don't be so down," said Kiba as he threw an arm around Naruto's neck, "I have dreams that feel super realistic too. I once fell down the stairs running from a giant Ariados. I broke my arm too...Point is you just had a bad dream. Nothing more, nothing less."

Naruto didn't seem confused, but under the concerned looks of his friends, he allowed the matter to drop. The dream had felt super real to him, but Kiba was right. He was probably just blowing things out of proportion.

"I think you're right," said Naruto as he started walking, "Come on, we've wasted enough time as is! I have had enough of this stupid forest. As soon as Diva becomes a Staraptor, I'll try for my Flying License. Walking is for losers."

"I bet Yari will become a Fearow before Diva becomes a Staraptor."

"That's not fair! Diva has to evolve twice while Yari only needs to evolve once. That's a sucker's bet."

"I'm not hearing a no..." goaded Kiba and he didn't have to wait long for Naruto's response.

"You're so on," said Naruto, "You're going to regret those words."

Throughout this all, Fū was quiet as she trailed behind the two boys. She had a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. As Naruto and Kiba got deeper into their argument, her smile faded as she kept her eyes trained on one thing.

Naruto.

* * *

"Diva, use Wing Attack. One last time!" shouted Naruto and Diva let out a screech before diving down towards her target – Tsūga.

"Dodge it!" shouted Kiba, but it was all for nought and Diva slammed into Tsūga before pulling away. The Drilbur was already beaten up and Diva's attack was the final nail in the coffin.

"Don't worry too much about it, Tsūga," said Kiba as he scooped up Tsūga, "It was a bad matchup. We'll fix your problem with fliers soon. Konoha is only a couple of hours away."

"That's two for two! First Yari and now Tsūga! You sure you don't want to make this a 3-on-3? Apollo is ready for Akamaru!"

"You're such a sure winner," said Kiba as he recalled Tsūga, "But no let's keep this a 2v2. We're almost in Konoha and I want to run past the Trainer Hall before it closes."

Kiba was right. They had covered quite a lot of ground yesterday and now they were set to arrive in Konoha by the middle of the afternoon if all went well.

"Can we stop for lunch?" said Naruto as he held his stomach, "I'm starving!"

"It's your fault for making us cover so much ground yesterday, " grumbled Kiba, but he did sit down and begin to prepare himself something to eat.

Again, Kiba was right. Naruto had found a new spring in his step and as they inched closer to Konoha his excitement bubbled over. It was what led to his first battle as a Trainer and while it was unranked it was still awesome.

"Didn't you eat like six apples since breakfast?" said Fū as she sat down near the other two, "Where are you putting it all?"

"A man's gotta eat," said Naruto while focusing on preparing his food, "Oh yeah. Fū, don't you need to catch another pokemon? We're going to be out the forest in like two hours and you still haven't caught a third."

"Tell you what," said Naruto as he turned to the girl, "I'll go with you to find a pokemon and then Diva can lead us back to Kiba. How's that sound?"

Fū paused for a second before saying, "That sounds great. Thanks–"

Fū was cut off as a brown blur jumped into the clearing and picked up her red backpack. The thief leapt back up to the treetops and let out a loud chirp that had Naruto's Ultradex respond immediately.

"Buneary, the Rabbit pokemon," chimed in the mechanical voice of Naruto's dex, "Its ears are strong enough to shatter a boulder to dust."

"That's my bag," said Fū and the Buneary seemed to taunt Fū before leaping away with her bag held in its ears.

"Kiba, stay here and watch our stuff," said Naruto as he took Diva and Apollo's pokeball while Fū picked up Naka's, "Stay here. We're getting that bag back."

Kiba couldn't get a word out before Naruto and Fū were chasing after the thief. They ran through shrubs and over logs and it seemed to take somewhat of a strain on Fū who began lagging behind Naruto.

Naruto made sure to keep half an eye on her as he focused on the fleeing pokemon. It was extremely quick, but Naruto was able to keep her well in his sights as he bore down on her.

The Buneary seemed to realise she was being chased and she dropped down from the trees and instead tried to lose them by dropping to the forest floor. Naruto was forced to leverage between catching Buneary and keeping up with Fū and in the end, it was instinct that guided him.

"Hop on," said Naruto showing his back to Fū who thankfully didn't question him and simply got on his back.

The chase was back on and Naruto ignored Fū's shrieks of surprise as he sprinted to catch up with the elusive pokemon. The girl was barely a hindrance at all and Naruto felt proud the fruits of his training with Tsunade were showing.

Finally, they burst into a less wooded area and they were greeted by the sight of Buneary digging through Fū's bag. It didn't seem to notice their approach and so Naruto released Diva and Apollo simultaneously.

Fū also let out Naka and the Chimchar was on red alert as it took in the oblivious form of the thief. The pokemon all moved on a silent cue from their trainers and soon the bag was retrieved by Diva and a confused Buneary was restrained by Apollo and Naka.

Naruto gestured towards Buneary and Fū took that as her cue as she stalked towards the defeated looking Buneary. It seemed to cower away from Fū slightly and that caused her to soften her disposition.

"Stealing is bad, you know?" said Fū and the Buneary seemed to let out a huff, "Why would you steal?"

Buneary didn't answer and instead seemed to be focused entirely on pulling away from the grasp Apollo and Naka had on her.

"Let go of her," said Fū and after only a moment's hesitation, both pokemon let go of the culprit. Buneary seemed surprised by the gesture before cowering in embarrassment as her stomach rumbled.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" said Fū as she rubbed the top of Buneary's head, "That won't do. Diva, please give me my bag. "

By now, Apollo and Naka had backed off fully and Diva dropped the bag gently next to Fū. The girl reached into the bag before pulling out an apple.

"Here," said Fū softly, "I hid one of these from my friend over there. He eats way too much."

"Hey!"

Buneary seemed wary of the offer, but she grabbed the apple using her ears and assessed it before taking a large bite out of it. Fū sagged in relief as she watched Buneary eat and she gave the poor thing another apple when she finished the first one.

By the time Buneary had finished the second apple, Apollo and Diva were both back into their pokeballs. This seemed to intrigue Buneary who was looking at Naka's pokeball on Fū's waist.

Buneary tapped the button but was left disappointed when nothing happened. Fū seemed to understand what Buneary wanted and she took out a pokeball of her own and held it towards Buneary.

"You want to come with me?" said Fū drawing a nod from Buneary, "What about your friends and family in the forest?"

Buneary seemed to grow silent at that and at once Fū swept it up in a hug. Buneary wrapped it's ear around Fū's necks returning the hug as best it could. Fū finally pulled away after a couple of seconds.

"You ready?" said Fū to Buneary who immediately nodded. A second later, the pokemon was drawn into the pokeball and it dinged immediately signifying a successful capture.

Fū let out Buneary almost immediately who seemed to be very happy. She ran to Naka and engaged in chatter with her new teammate.

"I guess that's your third pokemon. I can see why Chōmei follows your lead so easily. You have a good heart."

Fū rubbed the back of her neck as she rose to her feet and said, "I guess so? I don't know I just had this feeling–"

"Watch out!"

Whatever Fū was going to say was cut off as Naruto managed to sweep her and her pokemon off their feet as he dove forward. It was no moment too soon as a tree fell right where they just where.

Naruto sprang back up to his feet and he was surprised to see what had caused the tree to fall. Naruto's dex let out a beep before chiming up just as he placed a hand on Diva's pokeball.

"Scyther, the Mantis pokemon. It slashes through grass with its sharp scythes, moving too fast for the human eye to track."

Sure enough, a diagonal cut was found in the tree stump and Naruto realised that for whatever reason the Scyther was mad at them. Fū realised this too and she made Buneary step behind her as she turned to Naka.

"Ember"

"Diva, back Naka up with Wing Attack."

Diva flew out her pokeball her wings already beginning to glow with energy before Scyther struck. It evaded the small flames shot at it by Naka before striking out with both of its scythes.

There was a flash of white before both Naka and Diva were sent hurtling away. They were recalled swiftly and Naruto yelled at Fū to run. He pulled on Fū's arm and together they both fled even as the buzzing of Scyther's wings emanated from behind them.

Naruto grabbed his Ultradex and he pressed a button before there was a sudden rush of air. He ducked to the ground and it was a motion that saved his life as Scyther struck out with one of its scythes.

Fū was now behind him and they were both stock-still as Scyther seemed to line up for another strike. Naruto felt cold sweat gather on him as Scyther leaned back clearing preparing for another strike.

This time its blades glowed a harsh red and Naruto bit back a sigh as Fury Cutter came into life on Scyther's blades. That attack became stronger the longer it was in use and even if they somehow survived the first strike the second would ensure that they were finished.

Scyther sped towards them and as Fū let out a desperate scream Naruto closed his eyes. All his dreams and goals would never be achieved and all because of some pokemon that had attacked them for no reason.

There would be no Konoha Tournament, no badges, no Conference and no becoming the Champion. Instead, he was going to die in this forest with a girl he had only met a few days prior.

No way in _hell_ was Naruto going to accept that.

It was weird. Naruto knew he felt different and like _different_ different. He had been feeling peculiar since he fell asleep on fire duty, but this was different and in a good, no, a great way.

Naruto finally opened his eyes and as Scyther inched towards him he did the most amazing thing of his life. He weaved through the swiping slashes of Scyther and even as the red glow of Fury Cutter almost blinded him he was still able to take in the surprised look of Scyther before his fist nailed it right in the chest.

There was a glow of white before Scyther was sent flying backwards. Scyther ploughed through a couple of trees and its unexpected departure was punctuated by the sound of its exoskeleton cracking from Naruto's punch.

Scyther's Fury Cutter had the unintended consequence of cutting through multiple trees as it was sent sailing and Naruto let out a sigh of relief as a multitude of trees collapsed onto the pokemon.

Naruto dropped to his knees as his hands began to shake from how close he had come to death. He was barely aware of Fū collapsing next to him. He wasn't sure when, but somehow their harsh breathing morphed into hysterical laughter.

They pulled each other into a hug as the scariest experience of their life drew to a close and Naruto was blinded by Fu's green hair as he slowly regained his composure.

Once they were both calm, which took quite some time, Fū asked the question that was on both their minds.

"What just happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

The unfamiliar voice shocked the two Trainers and they sprung apart as they whirled on the newcomer. They were greeted by a woman who had wavy purple hair and was accompanied by a hulking Pidgeot and a sinister-looking Bisharp.

"Are you the ones who triggered Konoha's Emergency Patrol system?" said the woman and Naruto sagged in relief as he nodded.

"Yeah," said Naruto as he pulled out his Ultradex to show her the flashing screen, "We got attacked by a powerful Scyther. It knocked out two of our pokemon almost immediately. I thought this was supposed to be the safe route?"

"It is," said the woman and she offered her hand out to the two teens, "My name is Yugao Uzuki and I'm one of the Emergency responders. I flew out over here as fast I could. Luckily, I wasn't too far away. We've been getting reports of a Scyther terrorising trainers, but we haven't been able to catch it. Where is it?"

Naruto and Fū exchanged a glance before pointing to the pile of felled trees. Yugao glanced between them and the pile before her eyes settled on Buneary who was still outside her pokeball.

"How did you take it down?"

"We got lucky," said Naruto cutting off whatever Fū was gonna say, "We hit him hard and fast while he was preparing a move and it backfired badly."

Yugao stared at them intently before nodding. She withdrew a pokeball before releasing a Gallade that practically oozed power.

"Do you have anyone else travelling with you?" asked Yugao and Fū nodded as she pointed in Kiba's direction.

"Alright," said Yugao as she recalled her Pidgeot and Bisharp before placing one hand on Tsuki and offering the other to Naruto and Fū, "Tsuki found him. We'll teleport there and from there to the pokecenter. You may need to swing by my office to get your statement on paper. The rangers are supposed to corral the stronger pokemon away from the safe routes. I imagine Mayor Sarutobi won't be pleased with this."

Naruto grabbed Yugao's hand and Fū did the same to him. They both exchanged a glance and Naruto was immediately able to tell what Fū was asking.

What the hell just happened?

Naruto didn't know, but he was gonna find out. The red glow of the Fury Cutter had jogged his brain into hyperdrive and Naruto was finally able to recall what happened in the clearing with the Gengar.

He had a strong feeling that whatever happened that night was the reason all of this had happened.

"Have you ever teleported before?" asked Yugao and she smiled sympathetically when Fū shook her head in the negative.

"The first time's always the worst."

"Wait, let me–"

Fu's words were lost to the wind and the group of trainers disappeared in a flash of blue leaving behind an empty forest.

None of them had noticed the eyes on them from the treetops. The figure stayed high above the ground before enlarging a pokeball and releasing a strange red and blue pokemon.

"Deoxys, use Teleport. My work here is done."

There was a second flash of light and soon the clearing was devoid of any life once more.

* * *

_Yugao Uzuki_

_Rank: #49_

_Grade: A-rank_

_Points: 10, 700, 500_

* * *

_New pokemon:_

_Naruto:_

_Diva, a female Starly_

_Fū:_

_An unnamed female Buneary_

* * *

**Wow, guys.**

**Your response has been great. This took longer than expected, but ey here we are. Please drop some reviews and tell me what you thought of the chapter.**

**I loved hearing from you guys and thanks to everyone who reviewed the last few chapters.**

**Sorry for those expecting to see some of Konoha, but that needs a few chapters of its own. Naruto, Fū and Kiba traversed the supposedly safe Halo Forest and came out of it shaken, but safe.**

**Naruto and Fū finally got their third pokemon and now it's time to grind.**

**Deoxys was the first legendary in this. Unexpected? I'd imagine so.**

**This is also gonna be pretty long as you can imagine. I mean Naruto needs 16 badges and that's only the main quest. So you better strap in and get comfortable, people.**

**Feel free to PM about whatever if you're so inclined. My door is always open.**


	4. Blending

**Around 10K words. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"You guys ran into one of those super strong pokemon in the forest?" asked Kiba as he, Naruto and Fū followed Yugao through the forest.

Apparently, there was some sort of rule against teleporting directly into Konoha and so they would have to get in by foot. Thankfully, Yugao's Gallade had teleported them to the outskirts of Halo Forest. It was only supposed to take them a couple of minutes before Konoha was in sight.

"Yeah," said Naruto his voice softer than usual, "It was ridiculously strong. Fū and I got really lucky that we weren't killed. That thing was out for blood."

In truth, luck didn't have anything to do with it. Naruto knew that. Fū knew that. Buneary probably knew that and that Scyther sure as hell knew that.

Naruto knew that what he did was highly out the realms of the ordinary. Jiraiya and Tsunade were rather physically strong, but even then they had their limits. Naruto also knew that their strength came about after some secret training for years on end.

"How did you take it out?" said Kiba and Naruto held back a cringe when he saw Yugao glance backwards, "I mean you only had Diva, Buneary and Naka. If this thing was as strong as you say–"

"Can we talk about something else please?" said Fū, "I barely even remember what happened. All I know is we almost died back there..."

Naruto may have only known Fū for a short while, but he was no idiot. The ordeal had been rather traumatic, but it was rather smart of her to embellish a bit. Neither of them felt comfortable with revealing what had happened back there much less around Yugao.

They needed to talk about it for sure and figure out just what the hell was going on, but for now, playing dumb would save them a load of headaches.

"Again, I'd like to apologise for that," said Yugao, and her tone was more casual than before, "I still need a statement from you, but I think it can wait. Teams have already been deployed to sweep the area for any high-level pokemon like that Scyther."

The apology from Yugao did a lot to dissolve the tension and soon a comfortable silence settled over the group. They walked in silence until they finally approached a break in the woods.

Kiba and Naruto took off running and they both ignored the shout of warning from Yugao. Naruto left Kiba in the dust and was fast approaching the open air.

The sunlight hit him and Naruto kept running full tilt until he realised just why Yugao had shouted after them.

They were on a cliff.

Naruto slid to a stop just before the edge, but Kiba didn't seem to realise the danger he was in and as he blew past Naruto he turned and shouted, "Tired already? See you in–Oh shit!"

Naruto had reached out in desperation and he was able to grab onto Kiba's hood before he jerked the other boy backed. Kiba's legs flew past him before he was finally pulled back in the direction of Naruto.

Their heads smashed into each other and they collapsed into a heap as they recovered from their near-fatal accident. Kiba rolled off of Naruto and they both cradled their heads as Fū and Yugao ran up to them.

"I thought I told you to not rush ahead when we started walking," chastised Yugao her Gallade next to her, "You could have been seriously hurt."

She was right. Yugao had taken them down one of the shortcuts used by the Konoha Patrollers. In his excitement, to leave the forest both Naruto and Kiba had not heeded her warning.

Luckily, Naruto had realised how they were running out of ground before he and Kiba plunged to their deaths.

"I know you're excited to make memories," said Yugao as she helped the two boys up, "Just remember that a dead man tells no tales. Now, are any of you afraid of heights."

When Yugao received no response from any of them, took out two pokeballs before releasing two massive Pidgeot. They both had saddles on them and towered over them all.

"These Pidgeot are some of the best fliers in Sanka," said Yugao as she climbed into a saddle, "We can fly from here to Konoha. The sooner you're in there, the safer you'll be."

"Why can't we teleport into Konoha again?" asked Kiba as he nervously looked at the bird pokemon, "Or maybe we can walk? There's still plenty of time left."

"There's a psychic barrier that prevents teleportation into Konoha," said Yugao, "Criminal syndicates like Yamata have been known to teleport into whichever city is in their sight. "

This was the perfect chance for Naruto to speak to Fū without making Kiba suspicious. With that in mind, he pushed Kiba towards Yugao, "If you're gonna be such a big baby about it then go with Yugao. She's probably your safest bet of landing."

"I'm not scared!" shouted Kiba trying to give off a sense of bravado that he lost almost immediately, "Whatever, I'll go with the scary lady. If I die I'll come back to haunt you, Naruto."

Yugao didn't seem to like the nickname Kiba had given her judging by her facial expression and she practically yanked Kiba onto the saddle.

"Hold on tight. "

Kiba had just gotten comfortable in the saddle and he only had a second to wrap his arms around Yugao before they took off in a burst of wind. Dust was kicked up from the speed of their takeoff and Kiba's voice was audible as he sped away.

"This is so awesome!"

Naruto smirked at Kiba's changed in attitude before turning to Fū who was already approaching the other Pidgeot.

"Look, Fū. About what happened with the Scy–"

"Have you always been able to do that?" said Fū as she cut Naruto off prompting the boy to shake his head rapidly.

"So that was the first time?"

Naruto nodded just as quickly.

"Okay," said Fū as she gestured towards the Pidgeot, "Let's catch up. We clearly don't know what happened back there, but we'll figure it out. For now, let's keep this between us. Not even Kiba can know."

"That's fine by me," said Naruto.

Naruto took that as their cue to leave and once he was firmly settled into the saddle he waited for Fū to get comfortable before looking down at the Pidgeot.

"Let's go!"

Nothing.

"Come on, Yugao is getting away!"

Nothing.

"Up up and away?"

Nothing.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? said Naruto to the Pidgeot who he could swear had a smirk right now, "Fine, be that way...Uh, Fly?"

Finally, the Pidgeot cooperated and Naruto had to brace himself as they zoomed up into the sky. Fū's arms tightened around him and they both let out a scream as the Pidgeot soared into the sky.

Suddenly, their rapid ascent halted and the two young trainers were able to regain their composure. Naruto was focused on getting his heart rate back down so it came as a surprise when he heard Fū gasp from behind him.

"Wow," said Fū and Naruto could see she was looking towards the ground, "It's massive. "

Naruto followed Fū's gaze and he was taken aback by the sheer scale of the city. Hulking walls rose from the ground and circled the entire city. Buildings of various sizes and shapes rose into the sky and even from this high they were able to watch as a swarm of people flitted from one place to another.

"We finally made it," said Fū and Naruto couldn't help, but smile.

"Here we come, Konoha!"

* * *

The headquarters of the Konoha Patrollers was a massive rectangular building that had a landing deck on top. Yugao and Kiba were already standing on the roof waiting for Naruto and Fū to land so when they did arrive Kiba was already in their face.

"What took you so long?" taunted the boy as he took in the windswept look both Naruto and Fū had, "Did you go slower because you're afraid of a little speed?"

"You wish," said Naruto as he and Fū climbed out the saddle, "Somebody just didn't want to take off at all... Are all Pidgeot that stubborn?"

The Pidgeot Naruto had flown in on seemed to be amused by this and nudged Naruto with its wing which sent him stumbling forward a few steps. Naruto did his level best to keep his cool as everyone on the roof, including Yugao, laughed at his misfortune.

"Okay," said Yugao once the laughter died down, "As you know, the Konoha Rookie Tournament is in a few weeks. This is quite the attraction and so accommodation will be hard to come by. However, due to your ordeal in the forest, the mayor has decided to place you in the Golden Palm Resort at no charge to you. See it as an apology for our sloppiness. "

"Alright!" said Kiba as he wrapped an arm around both Naruto and Fū, "You guys should get attacked by random pokemon more often. We could make a living off of this."

Naruto rolled his eyes before pulling Kiba's arm off of him. He pulled out his Ultradex and he was pleased to see that the Golden Palm was listed on the map.

"Let's go guys. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty hungry" said Naruto before taking a long hard look at Kiba, "Plus, someone needs a shower..."

"You guys smell just as bad as me!" shouted Kiba as he walked after Naruto and Fū, "We were in a forest for days! Where exactly was I supposed to freshen up? "

The trio of trainers was just about to enter the interior of the Patrol HQ when Yugao called out after them.

"The mayor wants to see you before you go," said Yugao before clarifying who she meant, "Yes, you blondie. I just got the message on my dex. It's only for a quick chat. Your friends will be escorted to the Golden Palm."

"See you guys later, I guess," said Naruto and after they exchanged goodbyes he watched Kiba and Fū get escorted by a man with a bandanna wrapped around his head, "What's this meeting about exactly? "

"It's not my place to say," said Yugao as she released Tsuki, "To the mayor's office. "

Naruto only had a few seconds to prepare as he felt Gallade lay a hand on him before his surroundings shifted. They were now outside a large building that had men and women in formal wear walking in and out of it.

"Right this way, kid," said Yugao as she recalled Tsuki once again. Naruto followed her as they entered the building and did his best to not react as they drew a couple of stares from the various people inside the building.

They eventually stopped in front of an elevator and Naruto did his best to act casual as he, Yugao and some suits travelled upwards in awkward silence. No one was looking at him directly instead they used the mirrors in the elevator to check out the kid who had no business here.

It was annoying.

"Could you guys please stop staring at me?" said Naruto to the others in the elevator, "I know I'm a kid, but this is getting really creepy."

That seemed to do the trick and the rest of the elevator ride was a lot more comfortable for Naruto as people did their level best to not look at him. The elevator slowly began to empty out until it was just Naruto and Yugao.

They only had one more level to go until they reached their destination. Yugao seemed highly amused by his earlier outburst, but Naruto kept a stoic facade until the elevator dinged.

Naruto followed Yugao as she took a few turns until finally, they came to a stop at a desk with a young lady sitting behind a computer. She was tapping away at the computer and didn't seem to notice them until Naruto cleared his throat rather obnoxiously.

"Can I help–Oh, hey Yugao. How's Hayate?" said the secretary as she looked at the other woman, "Has he popped the question yet?"

"Hey, 's been good and no he hasn't yet," said Yugao, "It takes a lot of dedication to open up a gym and we want to save up a bit more before moving back to Saisho to open a gym."

"I was talking about marriage..." said Suzume drily which caused Yugao to snap her fingers.

"Oh yeah, he proposed like six months ago. We're only getting married after we set the gym up though."

"Wait," said Naruto suddenly, "You're from Saisho too? Maybe you're not all bad."

"Whatever, kid," said Yugao before turning to Suzume, "The brat over here has an appointment with the Mayor. Is he free?"

Before Suzume could answer, the door to the mayor's office opened and two old men stepped out. One wore simple blue robes and walked with the aid of a stick while the other wore a vibrant red and had a rather large beard going on.

The difference between the two men was evident as the man with the walking stick simply nodded curtly before walking while the other (the mayor Naruto assumed) smiled at everyone else.

"Ah, Yugao-chan. You seem to be doing well," said the man whose face Naruto had a sneaking feeling he had seen before, "This must be the boy that got attacked in our forest. My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi and I'm the mayor of Konoha."

"Hello, uh, sir. My name is Naruto Uzumaki," said Naruto as he scratched the back of his neck, "Thank you for placing me and my friends in the resort. It really wasn't necessary."

"Nonsense," said Hiruzen waving it off, "It's my duty to ensure everyone within the jurisdiction of Konoha is safe. I'm glad you were able to come out unscathed. Now please, step into my office."

Naruto did just that as he followed the old man into his office. It was probably one of the fanciest places Naruto had ever had the pleasure of being in. Thick carpets were laid out on the floor. Shiny, expensive wood made up a majority of the furniture such as the wall-to-wall bookshelves and Hiruzen's desk.

There leather chairs on either side of the desk and as Hiruzen took his seat Naruto followed suit. There was silence in the air until Naruto broke it.

"Why do you look so familiar?" said Naruto, but he backtracked once he saw Hiruzen's eyebrow raise, "Uh, I just mean that I must have seen you somewhere before, but now I can't remember. "

Of all the responses Naruto expected he didn't expect the old man to chuckle deeply. Naruto sat in silence as Hiruzen got his chuckles out before saying, "I used to be the Champion of Sanka before I relinquished the title. I would have thought with your father being a former Champion you'd recognise me. Perhaps I am getting old..."

The realisation and embarrassment hit Naruto like a ton of bricks. Hiruzen was one of the greatest Trainers to have lived. He was renowned for having a wide variety of pokemon, but his ace was his Infernape.

It must have been years ago by now, but Naruto could recall watching a taped battle of Hiruzen's Infernape vs a former member of the Elite Four. Enma, if Naruto recalled correctly, had taken down four pokemon before falling to the opponent's ace.

Thankfully, Hiruzen didn't seem to be the type to be offended by not getting recognised and Naruto capitalised on that as he tried to change the topic.

"How do you know my father?" asked Naruto, "Is that why we got the rooms at the resort?"

That wasn't a bad thing per se (five-star accommodation was five-star accommodation) but Naruto didn't want to coast by on his parents' achievements. He was very proud of them, that was for sure, but he wanted his achievements to be his own.

He didn't want to be pandered or spoiled like he was some sort of royalty.

"No, it's nothing like that," chuckled Hiruzen, "It's standard procedure for anyone. I own the resort and if anyone encounters a similar issue then they too will receive the same treatment. It's the least we could do after all."

There was something about the old man that just made Naruto believe him. Sure he could be lying, but Naruto genuinely did not get that vibe from the mayor at all. He seemed like a good person.

"To answer your first question," said Hiruzen, "One of my apprentices adopted your father. I helped sort out the paperwork and everything. The other one of my students is your mother's aunt."

Naruto got what he meant immediately.

"You taught the hag and the pervert? Why am I only meeting you now?"

Hiruzen chuckled at Naruto's response before saying, "Yes, I did teach Tsunade and Jiraiya. I saw more of you as a baby, but soon your parents began to bounce around quite a bit and that coincided with my election as mayor. "

That also made sense. Konoha was one of the largest cities in Sanka so running it would take a decent chunk of one's time. That still didn't answer one thing.

"Why am I here?"

"Oh, I must apologise, " said Hiruzen as he began to tap away at his computer, "I completely forgot about that."

"Now, I understand you went to Saisho Academy, " Naruto nodded as Hiruzen tapped away at his computer, "I received a message from your sensei after we concluded the sensei exchange program about, an...anomaly with your Treecko...He said I should ask you about it myself once you were in Konoha."

That was not what Naruto expected at all. So Iruka had gotten in touch with the old man about Apollo knowing Aura Sphere. Was it really that big of a deal?

"Oh, you mean Apollo," said Naruto, "I was using him in my examination battle and he used Aura Sphere to win. It wasn't any of the moves he knew either. He just learnt it mid-battle."

"That is rather strange," mused Hiruzen "However, it isn't entirely unheard of. Apollo may have some fighting type lineage from the Jangmo-o line or even a Blastoise that knew the move."

"Movesets aren't as set in stone as people would like to believe, " said Hiruzen, "Take Technical Machines. Before it was assumed to be impossible for moves like Thunderbolt to be learnt by other types, but now various pokemon from Gardevoir to Rampardos that can learn it."

"That's not to say this isn't a unique case. Aura Sphere is rare amongst pokemon and I've never heard of a pokemon picking up a move outside of its move and egg set while in battle," said Hiruzen.

"I wouldn't worry too much though," said Hiruzen as he sensed Naruto's uneasiness, "Movesets are just very accurate guesses at what moves pokemon learn. Theoretically, any move can be taught to any pokemon except for those centred around specific organs."

That was the best news Naruto could have heard. Aura Sphere was an awesome move and to hear that Apollo knowing it wasn't that odd was great to hear. If anything, this boosted Naruto's mood considerably as his plan for his niche solidified into something tangible.

"Take this," said Hiruzen as he handed Naruto a card, "Add me into your pokedex and should any issues arise with Apollo in the future let me know. Now, run along. If you're anything like your parents you must be itching to practice for the tournament."

Naruto thanked Hiruzen for his card before leaving his office. Yugao was waiting for him, Suzume's desk was empty, and she turned to him as he closed the door behind him.

"Where to now?" asked Yugao, "The hotel or the Trainer Hall?"

There was only one logical answer to that.

* * *

"Okay guys," said Naruto as he stood in front of his pokemon, "We've got the hall for the next 90 minutes so get ready to work."

Only Apollo and Diva gave a verbal response while Shinobi nodded minutely. Thankfully, Diva hadn't been too hurt by the Scyther and a Super Potion had fixed her up in no time.

"Diva, you'll be the target for Apollo. Apollo, you'll be Shinobi's target and Shinobi you'll be Diva's target."

Naruto had to wonder if he made a mistake as Diva looked eager to begin once she heard who her target was. This didn't seem to bother Shinobi who was still waiting for orders.

"Apollo, let's begin with you," said Naruto, "Diva, you can use any move in your repertoire, but this is more about building Apollo up not beating him down."

Once it was clear that they were on the same page, Diva took to the air where she awaited Apollo's first attack.

"Aura Sphere!"

A sphere of blue energy slowly took shape in Treecko's hands. Naruto frowned as he took in how much slower Apollo was at using Aura Sphere. It took about three seconds longer than the last time before it was finally ready.

The blue sphere rocked towards Diva at a high speed, but in a fantastic display, she twirled around it and flew towards Apollo with the added speed from Quick Attack.

"Dodge it."

Naruto was pleasantly surprised when Apollo used Quick Attack to boost his speed on his own volition. This allowed him to comfortably avoid Diva's charge as he came to a stop on the wall.

"Use Pound!"

Treecko's tail glowed with white light as he leapt after Diva who had just exited Quick Attack. His tail slammed into the bird who was sent sailing to the ground. Treecko was soaring after Starly and Naruto grinned as an idea popped into his head.

"Use Pursuit then boost it with Quick Attack!"

At first, Naruto was worried Apollo wouldn't understand, but it was all for nought as blackish energy trailed behind Apollo before it morphed into a greyish colour.

Apollo turned into a streak of green and grey as he rocketed after Diva who had just slammed into the ground. From this close-up, Naruto was able to see Diva's eyes flash white before she began to move.

She seemed to sense the danger she was in despite facing away from Apollo and she tried to take to the skies. Unfortunately, her reaction was a bit too late and Apollo smashed into her headfirst just as she took off.

Dust was kicked up and the impact echoed around the room as Diva let out a shriek of pain. Naruto had a few Super Potions at the ready, but he worried for nothing as a bruised, but healthy Diva.

Apollo was also fine, but he seemed rather caught up with the combination move they had just pulled off. Naruto was sure Apollo had held back quite a bit, but it was clear that their new move had some real firepower.

"That was awesome, Apollo!" shouted Naruto, "We'll call that...Dark Comet!"

That was a totally badass name. Fū, Diva and Kiba were so wrong about his naming skills and judging by Apollo's reaction –the name was just as great as Naruto thought it was.

"You okay, Diva?" inquired Naruto and he received an adamant squawk from the Flying-type, "Alright, Diva. Swap out with Shinobi."

Diva puffed her chest out before she smoothly landed out of the firing zone. Shinobi looked as professional as ever and once Apollo confirmed he was ready Naruto gave his first order to Shinobi.

It was an interesting fight to be sure as Apollo and Shinobi fought very similarly despite their stark differences. They were fragile but agile and truth be told they were better off attacking at a distance.

Diva excelled up close, but she had the same problem from distance. It would take time, but Naruto hoped he could teach them moved that counter their deficiencies in the meanwhile.

He had the TM for Double Team and he'd use that on Apollo and Shinobi soon enough. Diva already knew it and she took great pleasure as she watched Shino miss Water Pulse after Water Pulse as he tried to pick her out from her clones.

Diva had gotten her revenge as she nearly ended the fight with a Quick Attack and Wing Attack combo that was inspired by Apollo's Dark Meteor. Diva loaded up another one of her new combo (Naruto still needed to think of a name for it) and Shinobi stood still seemingly too tired to move.

Or at least that was what Naruto thought until Shinobi's right arm began to glow a fierce red. Diva wasn't fazed and she continued with her attack even as Shinobi reared his arm back.

There was a simultaneous screech of effort before Diva smashed headlong into Shinobi's new attack – Power-Up Punch if Naruto was right. Unfortunately, for Shinobi though he missed Diva's body and her wings smashed into his chest before sending him flying.

Shinobi smashed into the wall opposite Naruto and the red glow from his arm faded as Diva celebrated her victory/revenge. Naruto recalled Shinobi before letting him out as he began to apply the Super Potion onto the injured pokemon.

Naruto had to apply a liberal amount before finally, Shinobi's wounds began to fade. He'd probably still feel the ache for a few more hours, but he'd be alright by tomorrow.

"Great fight, guys," said Naruto and he grinned as Shinobi looked a bit put out by his loss, "We're going to keep working on our moves before the tournament. It won't be easy, but by the time the tournament rolls around we're gonna walk into the finals."

That seemed to cheer everyone up and Naruto recalled the exhausted Diva and Shinobi. Apollo had decided to stay out his pokeball due to being fresh and so Naruto decided to explore the battlefields as he left the training halls behind.

The Trainer Hall was split into two sections. It had multiple rooms just like the one Naruto had used for trainers to work exclusively on new moves. These moves could weather a lot of damage but weren't quite big enough to battle in.

The other section had a series of rings with a viewing gallery. This allowed people to have a bird's eye view of each field. The fields were separated by walls, but one could travel from one field to the other when using the viewing gallery.

Naruto heard a commotion coming from the direction of the fields and so he ran up the stairs to see what all the fuss was about. It turned out to be all for nought, though, as Naruto arrived at the battle that had a bevvy of spectators a little too late.

There was a boy with black hair and black eyes in white shorts and a blue shirt that held a shrunken pokeball in his hand. He was standing opposite a distraught looking trainer who was standing over a burnt Pidgey that was clearly unconscious.

There seemed to be quite an enthusiastic group of girls that were all shouting over each other. Naruto thought about approaching a pretty girl with pink hair, but he shot that idea down when she began to argue with some random blonde girl.

In the end, he settled for asking a rather chubby boy who was eating a packet of chips. He seemed friendly enough and was not flipping out like a lot of the others in the room.

"Hey," said Naruto, "What the hell just happened?"

"Oh, you mean this?" said the boy, "Sasuke over there just crushed Akanji 3–0. He didn't even swap pokemon or anything. It was embarrassing. I don't think Akanji is happy about that."

Naruto leaned on the railing as he looked at this Sasuke. He didn't seem overly impressed with his feat and instead said something to Akanji who didn't take whatever it was well. Akanji recalled his Pidgey before walking past Sasuke and bumping him with his shoulder.

"Clearly, " snorted Naruto, "Oh yeah, my name's Naruto. I'm here for the Rookie Tournament. What about you?"

"Nice to meet ya. Name's Chouji," said the other boy, "I'm going to enter the tournament too. I don't think I'll win though. Sasuke is in too and I don't think anyone's got a better shot at it than him."

"What's so special about him?"

"He's from the Uchiha family," said Chouji as he opened up another bag of chips, "I'm sure you've heard of them. The illustrious history of successful Trainers and makers of TMs. That's all standard though. Sasuke is the brother of the Champion. "

That threw Naruto for a loop. Itachi Uchiha was one of the youngest Champions ever and he was shockingly good. He had crushed Rasa, one of the former Elite Four, in a full battle. That was the first time an S-class got swept by another S-class in ages.

"I guess that would explain his popularity, " said Naruto as he gestured over to the girls and boys that were now calling out Sasuke's name, "Is it always like this?"

"Unfortunately, " said Chouji, "Sasuke has been spending a lot of time battling this week. He just stays here for a few hours every day and battles before leaving. He's gunning to win."

"Sasuke Uchiha, huh?"

The excitement was already bubbling in Naruto's veins. This is what he was talking about. He wanted to battle against people like Sasuke. The cream of the crop. If his pokemon weren't so tired he'd take that offer up now, but for now, he'd wait.

He'd practice his new moves and battle whoever he could until the Tournament. Once he reached the Tournament then he was going to meet Sasuke and beat him in front of his fans.

"Chouji?" said a girl's voice, "Where's Shikamaru? We need to start practising now that Sasuke is leaving."

True to the girl's words, Sasuke was walking up the stairs to the gallery. Luckily, he was on the opposite end of the field which was empty and he was able to avoid his 'fans' and slip out quickly.

"Who's this guy?" said the girl and Naruto turned to see the blonde girl from earlier, "Did you go to the Konoha Academy too? I swear I've seen your face before."

Naruto shook his head as he held out his hand, "I'm kinda new to town. I'm Naruto and I was just seeing what all the fuss was. That Sasuke guy seems pretty good."

"He's the best," said the girl, "My friend and I were going to do a double battle with Chouji and someone else, but it seems like the lazy ass ditched us. Damn Naras. My name's Ino by the way."

Naruto was about to respond to Ino, but he realised that he couldn't feel the usual weight of Apollo around his neck. Naruto scanned the room rapidly until he saw the cute girl from earlier kneeling to speak with an exuberant Apollo.

"Hang on a sec," said Naruto as he walked over to the girl, "Apollo, you had me worried. You really shouldn't bother random strangers."

"It's alright, " said the girl, "He's really sweet. A bit hyper, but that's not too bad. Judging by his bruises, you guys must have been working hard. Are you entering the Tournament too?"

"Sakura!" shouted Ino as she stood next to Chouji, "We need to find Shikamaru before we get kicked off our field! Come on!"

"I gotta go," said Sakura as she rolled her eyes, "It was nice meeting you..."

"Naruto."

"Nice meeting you, Naruto," said Sakura, "You should come out to train with us or for lunch or something. Konoha is a big place and can get lonely. We'll be here pretty much every day until the Tournament so I guess I'll see you around."

"Forehead! Finish up already!"

"Shut up, pig! Can't you see I'm busy?" shouted Sakura with a ferocity that disappeared rapidly, "I gotta go! See you around, Apollo and Naruto."

Sakura was running after Ino and Chouji and Naruto simply settled to wave them goodbye before heading to the hotel. The three people he'd met were pretty cool all-round and he'd really like to take them up on that offer for lunch. Maybe he could bring Fū and Kiba along too...

Or maybe just Fū. Naruto had a feeling Ino and Kiba would mix like oil and water. Ino being rather bossy and loud and Kiba being Kiba would make that a match made in hell.

Maybe he ought to invite Kiba along after all. He needed some entertainment too, you know.

* * *

There was a large swarm of people outside the Trainer Hall as Naruto, Fū and Kiba fought their way to the front. The Konoha tournament was set to begin and apparently, there was some sort of issue with the organisation of the tournament.

"Are you sure what that Sakura girl said was right?" asked Fū as the trio finally reached the front of the crowd, "Why the hell would they give us so much time to prepare, but only tell us there are preliminaries the day before?"

"Beats me," said Naruto as he watched a woman with spiky, purple hair come out on the raised platform outside the Hall.

"Everyone shut the hell up!"

The woman's loud voice immediately silenced everyone and she scratched the back of her neck in some form of delayed embarrassment.

"Huh, you guys actually listened...now I feel bad," said the woman before recovering from her embarrassment immediately, "Anyways, my name is Anko Mitarashi and there's been a change of plans. We've decided to host three rounds of double battles to cut down the competition. A lot more people than usual signed up for the competition so we're looking to separate the wheat from the chaff."

"At last check, there's close to 260 of you, but there's only space for 32 in the final tournament," said Anko drawing an uproar from the crowd, "If you want to blame anyone, blame the other big cities for not organising anything this year! Be glad you're in it at all, we had to turn away like 500 late entrees. Anyways, you'll all receive a message on your pokedex about who your partner is and when your battle is. "

"When are we going to get those messages?" shouted a random voice from the back.

Anko pulled back her sleeve and despite there being no watch she stared at it intently. She looked away and raised her other hand before pointing down.

"Right about now."

No sooner than that did a chorus of beeps emanate from the crowd. Naruto, Kiba and Fū all took out their pokedex, but neither of them looked at it yet.

"Finally, " said Anko looking rather pleased with herself, "All three battles are right after the other so conserve energy in your fights."

"Who's going first?" said Naruto and Kiba rose to the challenge as he flipped his open.

"I'm not a coward like you two. I'll check–Who the hell is Shino Aburame?" said Kiba, "He better not suck. I don't want to get knocked out before the final round."

Fū was the next to bite the bullet and she too seemed surprised as she said, "Hinata Hyūga? Aren't the Hyūga that family company that mines for evolutionary stones?"

"Yeah," said Kiba as he took a look at the picture of Hinata, "She's cute. And rich probably. Hey Fū, wanna swap partners?"

Fū pushed Kiba away which drew a laugh from the boy and Naruto took the chance to see who his partner was. It was a girl with blonde hair and a rather serious expression on her face. What drew his attention though was what her hometown supposedly was.

"My partner's from Kumo," said Naruto silencing the other two, "That's far in the east of Sanka. Why'd anyone come all the way here from there? Oh shit! My battle's in a half-hour. I'm on Field 11 if you guys want to catch our battle! Ok, bye!"

Naruto ran off and as Kiba and Fū watched him stuff away his dex, Kiba said, "I don't know about you, but I'm going to watch Naruto's battle. Maybe I'd learn something new. See you in a bit, Fū."

Kiba then began to fight his way through the crowd leaving Fū behind. If he hadn't been in such a rush to leave then maybe he would have seen how Fū seemed to deflate upon being left alone.

"Okay, Fū. Let's go find this rich girl."

And then she'd go to Naruto's battle. A little reconnaissance would probably go a long way.

* * *

Naruto was freaking out. His partner was nowhere to be seen and their battle started in ten minutes. He didn't want to lose because his partner was late.

Kiba would never let him live it down.

Another five minutes passed and Naruto had to hold back a sigh as his first opponents began to goad him.

"Hey, ref," said one of the boys, Ito, to the proctor, "Can't we just disqualify this chump already? He's gonna lose anyways. Suirou and I have bigger fish to fry."

"Yeah," added Suirou, "Look at him. I'll bet he sucks."

That was the bit that pushed over the edge. Naruto was about to blow when he heard rapid steps down the staircase behind him. He turned around and he was surprised to see his partner her face red with exertion.

"I am so sorry!" said the girl as she held up a pokeball, "My pokemon were still at the pokecenter and it was a pile-up! I'm not late, right?"

"You just made it," said the proctor, "One trainer from each side will send out their pokemon. The order will be displayed on that screen."

"Oh thank goodness," said the girl before she turned towards Naruto, "Hey, I'm Yugito. You're Naruto, right? Sorry about being late. I almost costed you."

"Woo!" shouted Kiba and Naruto and Yugito turned to see him with Fū and their partners, "Crush these punks, Naruto!"

Naruto rolled his eyes at the spectacle Kiba was making, "Yeah, that's me. Anyways, don't worry about it. We need to come up with a plan for this. I'll handle the physical attacks and you bring the distance. Is that okay?"

"Fine by me," said Yugito as she enlarged one of her pokeballs, "Matatabi will blow these chumps away."

"The order has been revealed, " said the proctor, "Suirou, Yugito, Ito then Naruto. Release your pokemon."

Suirou seemed to curse his luck before he released his pokemon. There was a flash of light before a Bulbasaur was released. Yugito seemed to have recovered and she let out her pokemon.

The flash died down and Naruto was surprised to see an Eevee with a rich, brown coat. The Eevee seemed to barely be aware of where it was and Naruto blinked as he watched it curl into a little ball.

"Mata-chan!" shouted Yugito causing the Eevee to perk up, "You can sleep later! We've got a battle."

Mata-chan, as Yugito called her, rose to her feet and stretched it's body out. Naruto had to admit he was having doubts about this, but that washed away as he heard the voice of Ito echo across the field.

"How cute, a little Eevee," said Ito as he held up a Great Ball, "This won't even be a challenge. Go, Cacnea!"

The second Naruto saw the grass type get released he knew immediately who he was going to use. Whether his opponents had conferenced with each other or not, he didn't know, but they had just made a big mistake.

"Let's go, Diva!"

Diva let out a screech as she flew up to top and as she came level with the viewing gallery, Naruto had the pleasure of hearing Kiba's incredulity at the sight of her.

"Diva's gotten huge!" said Kiba as he looked at the Starly, "She can't be too far away from evolving now. You really took that training seriously, hey Naruto?"

"An overgrown Starly won't help you!" shouted Ito and there was a buzzer as the battle began, "Cacnea, use Poison Sting on that bird."

Cacnea raised its arms before a flurry of needles were shot at Diva. It wasn't much of an issue for Diva, though, as she evaded the attack without any input from Naruto.

"Nice, Diva!" shouted Naruto drawing a chirp from the bird.

"Mata-chan use Swift on that Bulbasaur!"

Mata-chan leapt into action as she reared back before golden stars formed around her. The second she dropped back down, the stars were sent sailing towards the Bulbasaur.

"Dodge it, Saur!"

That was the wrong thing to do. Ito seemed to realise this as he turned away from the battle to yell at his partner.

"Swift doesn't miss, you idiot!"

They were about to devolve into an argument, but they stopped when they heard Naruto's voice give out an order.

"Wing Attack!"

Diva realised who her target was without fuss and she let out a screech as she sped towards a static Cacnea. Ito panicked at the sight and tried to shout out an order.

"Pin Miss–"

He was cut off as Diva smashed into the Cacnea and sent it sprawling towards Bulbasaur. Thongs turned from bad to worse for them as both pokemon wiped out before Mata-chan's Swift slammed into them.

"Diva, Quick Wing!"

Diva flew back up before she blurred away. There was a trail of white light behind her that faded as she smashed into the dazed Cacnea and Bulbasaur. Both pokemon were sent tumbling head over heel before they smashed into the wall.

"Bulbasaur and Cacnea are unable to battle!" said the proctor, "Naruto and Yugito win!"

Diva flew back down to Naruto and she landed on his forearm as he rubbed her neck, "You did great, Diva. Are you up for more?"

Diva nodded in the affirmative and Naruto thanked her again before recalling her. He turned to Yugito to see her doing the same to Matatabi.

"Good battle," said Yugito, "Hopefully, I'll be more helpful in our next fight."

"I only took the lead because Diva had the type advantage," said Naruto, "We need to wrap these battles up as soon as we can. Besides, I don't think Diva would let me live it down if I didn't use her."

Yugito laughed, but it was cut short as another team began to make their way down the stairs. The preamble to the battle was quicker than before, but the actual battle was faster.

They were both fortunate with the matchups and they both used Mata-chan and Diva to beat a Meowth and Bellsprout. This time the battle had ended with an Iron Tail to the Meowth and a forfeit from the other trainer.

Through it all, Kiba was cheering them on and when their final battle came and went by the boy was practically bursting with energy. Therefore, it was a let down when they received word that they were getting a bye into the Final Tournament.

"What do you mean they get a bye?" shouted Kiba from the top, "That's unfair! I want a bye! Isn't that right, Shino?"

Shino only seemed to adjust his glasses before shaking his head in the negative, "It's futile to argue further, Kiba. Why you might ask? We have not heard the reasoning behind this decision. Perhaps the explanation will allow us to understand this course of action."

"Why do you speak so funny? Aren't you like 13?"

Shino chose not to respond and the proctor seemed to calm down at Kiba's attention being drawn away. He turned to Yugito and Naruto and said, "You weren't supposed to have a bye, but your opponents instigated a fight with one of the other competitors. They challenged him in-between fights and all their pokemon were knocked out."

"They both lost to one guy?" said Yugito, "Who the hell was that guy?"

"Sasuke Uchiha," said Naruto drawing a nod from the proctor, "He's really good. There was a line of Trainers wanting to fight him over the past few weeks."

"Well, I guess we should thank him for clearing the path," said Yugito as she began to walk up the stairs, "Introduce me to your friends. They seem nice."

Kiba, Fū and their partners had decided to meet them halfway and it was a flurry of activity as they introduced each other. It turns out that Hinata and Shino already knew each so that made things a lot easier.

Shino was reserved and very formal. A stark contrast to Kiba, but Naruto had the feeling they would gel well with each other in battle. Hinata, on the other hand, was quiet. Extremely quiet.

She only ever spoke when spoken to and even then her voice wasn't loud at all. She still seemed like a good person, though if not a little weird, but it was a good type of weird.

Overall, it made for a blast as they watched everyone progress to the final stage. Akamaru and Shino's Bulbasaur (who was significantly stronger than Suirou's Bulbasaur) and Naka seemed to gel just as well with Hinata's Mienfoo.

Both teams had cleaned house amidst jubilant support from Naruto, Kiba and Yugito. Once they were all done, they had decided to catch a meal before the seedings for the final tournament being announced via their pokedex.

"I feel so weird," said Yugito as she wrapped an arm around Fū, "We're the only two not from the general area. It's so unfair Kumo cancelled their rookie tournament. None of my friends wanted to come with me here."

"Tell them to catch you on TV," said Naruto as he watched Fū slowly move Yugito's arm off her shoulder, "How rich is Konoha anyways? I can't believe they can afford to broadcast this."

"I don't know and I don't care," said Kiba as he cut into his meat, "All I know is a lot of people are going to witness my awesomeness."

"It's gonna for people to 'witness your awesomeness', once I knock you out the tournament," said Naruto making the gesture for air quotes which drew a couple of laughs from the crowd.

"I really want to face you now," said Kiba amidst the laughs, "That goes for all of you laughing at me! "

The volume of laughs rose even more at that and even Hinata seemed to be struggling to keep her composure. Even Kiba couldn't help, but smile as the laughs wore him down. Before anyone could add anything though, they were snapped out of their laughter by the sound of their pokedexs going off."

"The draws are out," said Naruto as he read the notification, "We need to report to the Stadium at 10 AM tomorrow. "

* * *

Tournament Bracket:

\- Match 1: Naruto Uzumaki vs Gin Akari

\- Match 2: Chouji Akimichi vs Sara

\- Match 3: Shino Aburame vs Kin Tsuchi

\- Match 4: Tai vs Sekka

\- Match 5: Fū vs Sasame Fuma

\- Match 6: Hinata Hyūga vs Idate Morino

\- Match 7: Yugito Nii vs Ami

\- Match 8: Ibara vs Atari

\- Match 9: Shikamaru Nara vs Misumi Tsurugi

\- Match 10: Hoshi vs Hitomi

\- Match 11:Ino Yamanaka vs Yoroi Akado

\- Match 12:Kiba Inuzuka vs Sakura Haruno

\- Match 13: Kata vs Hiru

\- Match 14: Tojurin vs Fukira

\- Match 15: Sasuke vs Zaku Abumi

\- Match 16: Dosu Kinuta vs Yoshi

=End Session=

\- Match 17: Winner of Match 1 vs Winner of Match 2

\- Match 18: Winner of Match 3 vs Winner of Match 4

\- Match 19: Winner of Match 5 vs Winner of Match 6

\- Match 20: Winner of Match 7 vs Winner of Match 8

\- Match 21: Winner of Match 9 vs Winner of Match 10

\- Match 22: Winner of Match 11 vs Winner of Match 12

\- Match 23: Winner of Match 13 vs Winner of Match 14

\- Match 24: Winner of Match 15 vs Winner of Match 16

=End Session=

[Day Session]

\- Quarter-finals 1: Winner of Match 17 vs Winner of Match 18

\- Quarter-finals 2: Winner of Match 19 vs Winner of Match 20

\- Quarter-finals 3: Winner of Match 21 vs Winner of Match 22

\- Quarter-finals 4: Winner of Match 23 vs Winner of Match 24

[Night Session]

\- Semi-final 1: Winner of Quarter-finals 1 vs Winner of Quarter-finals 2

\- Semi-final 2: Winner of Quarter-finals 3 vs Winner of 4

=End Session=

Third vs Fourth: Loser of Semi-final 1 vs Loser of Semi-final 2

Final: Winner of Semi-final 1 vs Winner of Semi-final 2

Coronation Ceremony

* * *

"So we're only going to have one battle a day?" said Naruto as they all looked at the chart.

"That's what it looks like," said Kiba, "There are no rest days except for between the semis and the final, though."

"That sucks," said Yugito, "Looks like I'll have to go through at least two of you here to get to the final. Easy as pie."

"We'll see about that," said Naruto as he lifted his gaze from his screen, "I hope we can still be friends after my team knocks down those of you in my way. So Shino, Hinata, Fū and Yugito you better get ready to lose."

That didn't go down well will the aforementioned trainers and soon lighthearted arguments began to bubble up around the table. Even though it was lighthearted, everyone knew tomorrow was the first big step in their career.

They would not drop the ball on this one.

* * *

"Come on, Diva!" shouted Naruto as he stared up at the bird. The roar of the stadium invigorated him and spurred him on as he gave his answer.

"Wing Attack!"

Diva dove down towards the poor Bellsprout that was caught in her sights and there was a groan throughout the stadium as it was sent flying by her attack. Diva flew back towards Naruto and he smiled as he read the score on the big monitor.

"Bellsprout is unable to battle," said Anko's voice over the speakers, "The winner of this match by 3 points to nil from Saisho Town is Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto crouched down and petted Diva as she basked in the praise raining down from the crowd. Gin's team hadn't been equipped to deal with a speedy opponent like Diva and she had blown through his entire team.

"Thanks, Diva," said Naruto as he rose to his feet, "You were awesome."

Diva seemed to twitch slightly before a blinding white light emanated from her body. Naruto couldn't look away as Diva's body grew taller and sleeker. Finally, the light died down and Naruto smiled as he took in Diva's evolved form.

"How are you feeling?" asked Naruto and the newly-evolved Staravia chirped back almost immediately obviously delighted with her evolution.

"Let's head back up to the booth," said Naruto as he decided to let Diva stretch out her new form, "Fly up there, I'll be right up."

Diva took off and almost lazily flew towards the booth. The crowd seemed enamoured by her grace as she flew over their heads. Naruto shook his head as he made his way to the staircase.

He was almost bowled over by Chouji who was practically running down the stairs. The other boy didn't stop moving as he waved at Naruto.

"Well done, Naruto! See you in the next round!"

Naruto shook his head at Chouji's antics, but he put it out of his mind as he made his way to the competitor's booth. He finally reached it and once he opened the door he was greeted with a few whistles and cheers.

"Not bad," said Kiba once he sat down next to him, "That poor chump. Diva took his team for a ride. "

Naruto was about to respond, but he felt someone's eyes on him. He looked towards the direction and he was surprised to meet Sasuke's eyes. The boy gave stared at him for a few seconds before turning his attention to Chouji's fight.

"What a creep," said Kiba as he noticed the stare-off, "He's probably trying to psych you out. Don't let him get to you."

"You're probably right."

Naruto put Sasuke out of his mind as he turned to the battles that were ahead. Some of them were close but were of a rather mediocre level while others were far apart. The only genuinely, interesting fight was between Kiba and Sakura.

Kiba ending up winning 3-1, but it was still a hot contest. Sakura's Chikorita beat Kiba's Drilbur but was then beaten by Yari. Yari also took down Sakura's Meditite before Akamaru beat Sakura's Mincinno.

Fū had only needed to use Naka and Chōmei to beat her opponent and the same stood for Yugito (who had revealed a Shinx called Jibashi as her second pokemon), Shino who used a Spinarak and Turtwig and surprisingly enough Shikamaru. The boy had used his Cyndaquil and Nuzleaf to great effect and had completely crushed his opponent.

As it stood, Naruto was the only one who had used just one of his pokemon. He had been hoping to push Diva over the edge as she was the closest of his team to evolving and it had finally paid off.

The session was almost over as Sasuke made his way to the bottom. The introductions were done and finally, the battle began.

"Go, Chespin!" shouted Zaku as he released his pokemon, "Let's do this thing!"

Sasuke took out a pokeball and without a word, he released his pokemon. Naruto raised a brow as he took in the sight.

"A Fletchinder?" said Yugito, "Things are really gonna heat up, hey?"

Silence.

"That sucked and you know it," said Kiba which seemed to crush Yugito's spirit, "Don't be like that. It sucked. Ask anyone here."

Naruto felt like throttling Kiba as Yugito looked at him instead of answering though he simply pointed at the screen, "It's about to kick off."

This seemed to work as Zaku gave his first order to Chespin.

"Come back, Chespin."

Zaku recalled the pokemon which drew jeers from the crowd. That seemed to annoy him slightly, but he ignored it as he let out his second pokemon.

"Come on out, Noibat."

A small bat-like pokemon was revealed surprising the majority of the remaining competitors. Naruto raised a brow as he scanned the pokemon with his dex as he had with pretty much every pokemon.

"Noibat are only found deep in caves," said Naruto as he looked at its entry, "I don't think this one is that strong though. It looks way too young."

"Use Supersonic on that bird."

"Inari, Protect!"

A sphere of green energy surrounded Sasuke's Fletchinder, Inari, and the sound waves passed over it harmlessly. Once the attack was done, Sasuke's next attack echoed over the speakers.

"Flame Charge!"

Inari was wrapped in a cocoon of flames before it sped towards Noibat. It covered the distance between them rapidly before ploughing into Noibat. Noibat was sent hurtling to the ground burnt and dazed and it kicked up a large amount of dust once it crashed.

The dust cleared to reveal that Noibat was unconscious and an annoyed Zaku recalled Noibat immediately. Zaku seemed rather annoyed as he let out his next pokemon, a Mankey.

"Tough break," said Naruto drawing a grim nod from Kiba, "This match is over."

"Mankey, use–"

Zaku was cut off as Inari slammed into his Mankey. The Aerial Ace was super effective and unfortunately for Zaku, his Mankey was already down for the count.

"Fast," said Naruto which made Fū speak up from her spot near to him.

"It's because it's a Fletchinder," said Fū drawing a nod of understanding from Naruto, "The Talonflame line tend to be some of the fastest at learning and using flying type moves. They even pick up powerful moves like Brave Bird and Hurricane up to three times as quick as your average flying type."

"There's no chance for him," said Naruto and the silence in the booth was deafening, "This Sasuke guy is good."

It was with a heavy heart that Zaku let out his Chespin. The boy seemed angry and overwhelmed as he took in the sight of Inari waiting on its next order.

"Forfeit now," said Sasuke to Zaku, "You're only putting your pokemon at risk."

Zaku didn't even seem to consider Sasuke's words as he shouted out an order, "Pin Missile!"

White spikes of energy formed on Chespin's back before they were sent flying towards Inari. Sasuke didn't seem bothered by this as he pointed towards the Chespin.

"Protect then Skyfire."

The green barrier protected Inari from any danger before it ascended high into the sky. Inari reversed course and red fire formed across its body before it morphed into a shining white.

The attack slammed into Chespin and a Sphere of flames emanated from the collision. Chespin hadn't even had time to dodge and its cry was heard throughout the stadium.

Inari flew back from the explosion looking tired, but ready to go. It was unnecessary though as the flames parted to show a burnt Chespin. Zaku recalled his pokemon and walked out of the arena as an announcement came over the speakers.

"Winner by 3 points to none, Sasuke Uchiha from Konoha!"

The applause from the crowd was louder and stronger than it had been throughout the entire day. It took a lot of people back and the last two trainers for the day seemed rattled. Yoshi seemed to have lost his composure and he relayed his retirement from the tournament once he got down to the bottom.

This shocked everyone and Kiba seemed to be amongst the most displeased by this, "Coward! You suck! I bet you weren't even gonna face Sasuke! What a loser!"

"Kiba," said Shino quietly, "I'd suggest you calm. Why? You've seemed to draw the attention of the audience."

True to Shino's words, the members of the audience closest to their booth were giving Kiba the stink eye. Kiba shrunk away from the glares and said, "What? I was just saying what was on everyone's mind..."

No one bothered to correct him and they all jumped as the door opened to reveal Sasuke. The boy walked as if he hadn't just had a magnificent fight and retook his seat from earlier.

"That's it for today, folks!" said Anko's voice as a graphic came up on the screen, "Here are the matches lined up for tomorrow."

* * *

\- Match 17: Naruto Uzumaki vs Chouji Akimichi

\- Match 18: Shino Aburame vs Sekka

\- Match 19: Fū vs Hinata Hyūga

\- Match 20: Yugito Nii vs Ibara

\- Match 21: Shikamaru vs Hitomi

\- Match 22: Ino Yamanaka vs Kiba Inuzuka

\- Match 23: Kata vs Fukira

\- Match 24: Sasuke Uchiha vs Dosu

* * *

"Where's Ino?" said Kiba, "Oh yeah she didn't come back up after her fight. It's just as well. She's about to get crushed."

"Things are getting personal, " said Naruto as he stared at Chouji, "Let's have a good fight, Chouji. Whatever happens we leave it all on the field, deal?"

"Fine by me," said Chouji as he ate a packet of chips, "I hope you're this happy after you lose."

"Hey, can we talk?" said Fū as she ignored the playful banter that was flowing amongst the competitors even as they began to file out the room.

"What's wrong?" said Naruto, but it only drew a shake of the head from Fū.

"At the hotel," clarified Fū, "It's kinda important."

"Sure," said Naruto a bit hesitantly, "We can speak right after we get some supper."

"Thanks," said Fū and she seemed to hesi6for a bit before walking towards Hinata who seemed quite shellshocked by the draw.

"What was that about?" said Naruto to himself before he felt a familiar feeling run over him. He looked behind him and lo and behold there was Sasuke.

Naruto stopped walking as he stared at the other trainer. The hallway emptied out as the other competitors walked on leaving the two behind.

"See something you like?" said Naruto as he grew irritated by the boy's intense gaze.

"You're an Uzumaki, " said Sasuke, "Are you related to Kushina Uzumaki?"

"Yeah," said Naruto, "She's my mother. What's it to you?"

"That means your dad is Minato Namikaze," said Sasuke, "You look just like him. The Champion that made my brother Champion."

"Is there a point to this?" said Naruto as he looked at Sasuke.

"You're good," said Sasuke, "You can be better if you stop fooling around with your friends. They're only distractions."

"They're not distractions," said Naruto as he felt his hands ball into fists, "I don't need you to tell me how to train and what not to do. If you think you're so great then prove it tomorrow. "

"Fine by me," said Sasuke as he trudged off with his hands in his pocket, "I'll see you in the finals."

Naruto was left alone in the hallway. Despite his bravado, he felt that maybe Sasuke had a point. He had spent a lot of time preparing for the tournament, but a lot of that time had also been spent with Kiba and the Konohans he had met. Fū had been a bit distant which had driven him to spend more time away from the hotel.

Maybe Sasuke was right? Did he spend too much time fretting over his friends? Even now he was wondering what Fū wanted to speak to him about. Was it good or bad? Did he say–

Naruto slapped himself as he prevented himself from overthinking, "He's just trying to get in your head...and he's doing a great job of it. "

Naruto shook his head a bit and that seemed to do the trick. Sasuke was wrong. His parents had made friends throughout their journey and look where they were now. If anything, Sasuke needed friends.

"I'll show him," said Naruto, "He's good, but that doesn't scare me."

It honestly didn't. Naruto had full faith in his team to get the win over the line. It was just the first of many challenges that they would overcome.

"Rest up guys," said Naruto as he ran his fingers over his team's pokeballs, "We've got a long few days ahead of us."

* * *

**NOTICE:**

**As you can see in the tournament, there are 5 OCs. I've thought of pokemon for all the actual characters and so those of you that are interested can send a PM of some proposed teams for the OCs.**

**Nothing ridiculous. They don't need to have a typical starter so don't let that restrict you. I might not be able to use them all, but I'll keep them in mind for future use.**

* * *

**Author Notes:**

**Thanks for the response to this. It's great to see so many of you are enjoying the story. I skipped over quite a few battles since well I doubt you guys care about faceless OCs. I'll go way more in-depth next chapter since those battles are more interesting and I didn't want the story to go too slowly.**

**As always, drop a review to tell me what you think and/or if you have any questions**.


	5. Combat

1**3K words. Please drop a review or PM if you have any thoughts or questions.**

* * *

It was the morning of the tournament and Naruto was feeling up to the challenge. His fight was first and so he needed to get up extra early to make sure his team was ready to go.

He had analysed Chouji's team after room service had delivered his breakfast and his pokemon were rather bulky but slow. Luckily, his team had piles of pace to their advantage even if they were fragile in comparison.

Naruto had finished dressing for the day and was about to call Jiraiya when he heard a knock on his door.

"Just a second!" shouted Naruto and he opened the door. Fū was standing on the other side, much to his surprise. It was only after a few seconds that he realised he had forgotten to speak to Fū yesterday. The remaining trainers had gone out to an arcade and Naruto had lost track of both the time and Fū.

"Hey, Fū. Come on in," said Naruto and he closed the door behind him as she took a seat on the back of the couch. Naruto leaned back against the door as he waited for Fū to speak.

"Sorry about yesterday, " said Naruto sounding a bit embarrassed, "I kinda got distracted and roped into a lot of games by Kiba and Yugito. I tried to look for you after, but I couldn't find you."

"I left early," said Fū her tone somewhat clipped before it eased up instantly, "Look, it's not like you're in trouble or anything. What are your plans for after the tournament?"

"My plans?" said Naruto with a hint of confusion, "Well, I was planning to stay a few days after the tournament. Then, I'd head out to Chinora Town to challenge their gym. They're a part of the Minor League. I don't think I'm quite ready to take on the Major League. "

Gyms were ranked just like Trainers. Some were D-rank and a few were S-rank like Kakashi and Rin's gym in Horomoto City. The one in Minora was a C-Rank gym and they were a Ground-type gym which gave him quite the advantage with his current team.

"I want to come with you."

"To Chinora Town?" asked Naruto drawing a shake of the head from Fū.

"On your journey actually, " clarified Fū, "You and Kiba are a nice change from the usual, but there's a bit more to it than that."

"You," said Fū pointing to Naruto, "Beat an extremely strong Scyther by punching it through a dozen trees. Before that, you picked me up and ran faster than I thought possible. Finally, I saw you save Kiba from falling over the cliff. You halted his momentum with one arm. That's not normal."

Naruto was about to protest when Fū held up her hand, "I believe you when you say you don't know why, but it's really gotten my attention. There's no way I could leave without helping you figure this thing out."

In all honesty, Naruto tried to put the feats he had achieved out of his mind at all times. He knew something was wrong and he knew it had to do with the Gengar in the forest. However, Fū was right. He needed to figure this thing out and he'd probably go crazy trying to keep this from everyone.

"I'd love it if you came with me, Fū," said Naruto which seemed to embarrass the girl a bit, "I don't think I can go back to travelling alone and you're way better company than Kiba."

The last part was said in jest and it served its purpose as the awkwardness that had bubbled up between them began to fade. Between Naruto spending time Chouji and the others as well as training there were times he'd not see Fū for days on end.

"I also want to get to the bottom of whatever happened to me," said Naruto once they stopped laughing, "I don't know how or why, but this happened for a reason. Whatever that reason is we'll find out together. "

Naruto held his hand out in a fist and he smiled when Fū responded by bumping her own fist to his.

"To finding out whatever the hell is going on," said Naruto before adding, "And to getting badges and stuff. We can't forget that."

And that was it. They had about an hour to get to the stadium and Naruto had a sneaking feeling Kiba was completely knocked out and would remain so unless he got woken up by someone.

"Now if you'll excuse me," said Naruto as he made his way back to the door, "I need to wake Kiba up. I think he's still asleep and as funny as it would be I don't want him to miss the tournament. "

"I already woke him up," said Fū, "He fell asleep on the floor, but he should be ready soon."

Great minds think alike clearly. Naruto had a feeling travelling with Fū was going to be pretty cool. It kinda sucked that he didn't have pictures of Kiba on the floor.

"I figured you'd enjoy some pictures of him on the floor so I took some with my dex."

Scratch that. Naruto was sure his journey was going to be awesome now.

* * *

"Viewers all around Sanka," boomed Anko's voice over the speakers. The woman was acting in her role as announcer and proctor.

"The next round of the Konoha Rookie Tournament is about to begin! The first match of the day will be Chouji Akimichi from Konoha versus Naruto Uzumaki from Saisho Town! "

Naruto took in a deep breath as he watched Chouji from across the field. The energy from the crowd ran through his veins and he was almost twitching in excitement. His excitement only increased as a picture of a coin appeared on all of the screens.

"A virtual coin toss will decide who starts," said Anko, "Heads is for Naruto and tails for Chouji. Let's see who will get us underway."

The coin flipped a number of times before it finally landed on heads. Naruto reached for his waist before releasing Apollo. The pokemon seemed surprised by the energy in the crowd before lapping it all up as he began to bounce back and forth.

"Naruto has decided to start with Treecko!" said Anko, "Who will Chouji decide to send out?"

Chouji seemed to stare at Apollo intently before finally settling on who to send out. He enlarged his pokeball before releasing his first pokemon.

"Let's go Niku!"

Niku turned out to be a yellow rotund pokemon that seemed rather eager to begin. It wasn't very tall, but it had a very stout frame.

"Chouji's first pokemon is Makuhita!" said Anko, "Match 17: Naruto Uzumaki vs Chouji Akimichi, begin!"

"Quick Attack!" shouted Naruto and Apollo charged towards Niku in a streak of white light. Apollo smashed into Niku before springing away from the stout Fighting-type.

"Niku, use Arm Thrust!"

Niku charged after Apollo his hands glowing a bright red. Naruto waited for Niku to close in before he gave his next order.

"Double Team! Don't let him find you!"

Apollo waited until Niku was in close before a multitude of copies of Apollo appeared from thin air. Niku seemed confused for a split second before he began to swing Arm Thrust after Arm Thrust through the copies.

The copies didn't make it easy though as they all bobbed and weaved in a tight circle around Niku. It was something Naruto had noticed. Apollo had something of an affinity for Double Team and his copies were able to perform independent actions from each other.

This didn't bode well for Niku who tired out rather quickly leaving a sizable number of clones left. The glow of Arm Thrust faded from his arms and they hung simply at his sides.

"Mega Drain!"

Green tendrils shot from one of the copies of Apollo before wrapping around Niku who struggled valiantly, but fruitlessly against the technique. Niku's struggling wanted in energy before he stopped entirely clearly unconscious.

"Makuhita us unable to battle!" announced Anko, "Treecko wins!"

Chouji recalled Niku and after a few words he sent out his next pokemon – a Sandshrew. It was a Ground-type and it was clear that Chouji had been backed into a corner.

"Rollout!"

Sandshrew curled into a ball before rushing after Apollo. Sandshrew was getting faster and faster so Naruto knew they had to act quick.

"Get out of there, Apollo! Don't let Sandshrew touch you!"

Apollo nodded before he blurred away in a streak of light. A second later, Sandshrew rolled over where Apollo had just been and so began a game of keep away as Sandshrew was gaining speed and power behind its Rollout.

Apollo was able to keep just ahead of Sandshrew for about two minutes and while there were near misses, nothing ever came from them. Naruto was patient until it finally happened.

Sandshrew unfurled from its Rollout and it was clear straight away that it was feeling extremely dizzy. Chouji had made the mistake of keeping Rollout active for too long. It grew gradually stronger as it went on, but inevitably a pokemon would have to stop to regain its bearings.

Apollo had kept just ahead of Sandshrew which baited Chouji and Sandshrew into thinking Sandshrew could catch Treecko. They had been overzealous and would now pay the price.

"Mega Drain!"

This time, Sandshrew was knocked out even quicker than Niku. Grass-type moves were super effective on Ground-types and Sandshrew had no chance once it got caught in Mega Drain.

Naruto knew Chouji's last pokemon was a Squirtle and that battle would probably play out similarly to the last two battles. This didn't deter Chouji who let out his Squirtle and immediately called out an attack.

"Rapid Spin!"

"Double Team!"

Squirtle went slicing through copy after copy before finally smashing into Apollo. Naruto grit his teeth as he watched Apollo sail through the air before landing.

Squirtle's shell would protect it from damage so they had to use moves that had real physical power behind them instead of simply strength. Luckily, they had just the thing.

"Super Pound!"

Apollo shot off in a Quick Attack towards Squirtle. The Water-type was standing its ground even as Apollo closed in. Naruto paid it no heed as Apollo whirled around on one foot to deliver a juiced-up Pound with its tail.

"Ice Punch!"

Naruto realised too late that he had been baited and now it was a showdown between Squirtle's Ice Punch and Apollo's Pound. Naruto had no need to worry though. In a move reminiscent of his fight against Mizuki's Machop, Apollo jumped straight over the Ice Punch.

Squirtle's fist was embedded into the ground which left him wide open for Apollo's attack. Apollo's tail pulsed with energy before it cracked against the back of Squirtle's head.

There was a collective groan from the audience before Squirtle dropped forwards completely knocked out and with a large bump on the back of his head.

"The winner of this match and moving onto the next round is Naruto from Saisho Town!"

Naruto and Chouji both walked to the centre of the field where they shook hands.

"Great fight, Naruto," said Chouji, "I'm going to have to work harder to beat you in future. I want my rematch soon enough!"

"Sure thing, Chouji!" said Naruto before bowing to the crowd. Apollo made a show of mimicking his actions before hopping up onto his shoulders.

Naruto made his way to the top and he gave a respectful nod to Sekka. He decided to stop by the bathroom and by the time he was back Shino's battle with Sekka was well underway.

"Come on, Shino!" shouted Kiba over the balcony, "Finish him already!"

"How's Shino doing?" said Naruto and he received a grim shake of the head from Kiba.

"His back is against the wall. Just watch."

Immediately, Naruto could see the problem. Shino's Bulbasaur was in a tough battle against Sekka's Sizzlipede. The Grass-type was covered in burns and seemed to be on its last legs.

"Flame Wheel!" shouted Sekka and his pokemon obeyed as it barrelled towards Bulbasaur in a wheel of fire. Bulbasaur seemed to be too exhausted to react until Shino gave his last order.

"Poisonpowder."

A cloud of purple smoke was expelled from Bulbasaur and Naruto was surprised when he heard the slow and dry voice of Shikamaru speak up.

"Shino's a genius."

A second later, Sizzlipede rode into the cloud and immediately there was a massive explosion as the Poisonpowder ignited. There was a flash of green within the explosion before Sizzlipede flew backwards.

Once it slowed to a stop it was clear that it was knocked out. The audience waited with bated breath as the fire and smoke faded from around Bulbasaur, but it morphed into cheers when they saw the Bulbasaur enveloped in a green barrier.

The cheers didn't last though as the barrier made by Protect faded away before Bulbasaur collapsed in a heap. Both trainers recalled their pokemon as Anko's announced the result.

"Both pokemon are unable to battle! Now, who are they going to send out next?"

"Poisonpowder isn't usually combustible, right?" said Naruto receiving a shake of the head from Shikamaru.

"It can be," said the boy, "Different pokemon can produce different poisons. That Sizzlipede was tough as hell. Shino sacrificed his Bulbasaur because his team is very weak to fire. That Protect took most of the sting out of the explosion, though. If that Sizzlipede had stayed out it would have been over."

Naruto accepted the rather surprising insight from the lethargic boy before turning his eyes back to the battle. Sekka had released an Oshawott and in line with Shikamaru's words Shino let out a Turtwig.

"Curse," said Shino and a purple mist wafted off Turtwig.

"You've got this, Oshawott!" shouted Sekka, "Aqua Jet then Fury Cutter."

Oshawott shot towards Turtwig in Aqua Jet and smashed into the Grass-type releasing a cry of effort. Turtwig was moved back a few feet before the Aqua Jet was stopped cold.

"Crunch."

Before Oshawott could even disengage from Aqua Jet, Turtwig had already struck. Its jaws clamped around the neck of Oshawott's neck very tightly

Turtwig shook Oshawott around viciously before dropping it to the ground. There were drips of blood around Turtwig's who was still completely fresh. Sekka, however, seemed freaked out by the attack. It only seemed to worsen once he saw the state of his Oshawott.

"Brutal," said Kiba and Naruto could only nod, "It was stupid of that guy to make his pokemon charge in like that. Curse buffed Turtwig's offence and defence."

In the meanwhile, Sekka had run to his Oshawott and after recalling him he turned to Shino, "You monster! Why'd you have to go that far?"

Their conversation was being broadcast over the mics all trainers wore on the arena and Shino's clipped response made Sekka seethe with anger.

"You only have yourself to blame. Why you might ask? Turtwig was empowered by Curse and you still attacked headfirst. This is your fault. A trainer has to take responsibility for allowing their partners to get hurt. "

"Shut up!" growled Sekka as he glared up at Shino, "You know what? I quit. You can have your precious victory. "

The crowd was far more subdued at this course of events and there was only weak applause as Anko announced Shino as the winner. The awkward air lasted until the next two battlers were announced.

"Can Fū and Hinata Hyūga make their way to the field?"

"Good luck, Fū," said Naruto as he walked up to the girl, "I wanna meet you in the semis. Don't let me down!"

"Good luck to you too, Hinata!" shouted Naruto to the girl almost out the door, "Kick Fū's ass!"

Hinata seemed embarrassed by Naruto's encouragement, but she nodded hesitantly before scrambling out the door. Yugito took this as an opportunity to come near Naruto and Kiba.

"So are you cheering for both sides?" her voice was half-amused and half-sardonic, "Isn't that confusing?"

"Nah," said Naruto flippantly, "Fū will win. You saw in their battles. Hinata needs some more confidence. She's good, but she's also her biggest hurdle."

Naruto expected Fū to beat Hinata. The Konohan was just too reserved and shy to beat an effective battler. If anything, the crowd could make things worse for Hinata.

That was without taking into account Fū's talent for battling.

The girls arrived at the bottom and Fū was chosen to begin the battle. They both had a handle on each other's style with one of their pokemon so it wasn't much of a surprise that both started out with different pokemon than their double battles.

Fu had chosen to start with Buneary who was looking ready to rumble and Hinata had started with a Fennekin. The battle began and Fū and Buneary (whose nickname Naruto forgot right now) kicked things off.

"Dizzy Punch!"

Buneary's ears glowed a multitude of colours as it rapidly closed down on Fennekin. Hinata only hesitated for a second before giving her order.

"Psybeam!"

Buneary was forced to abandon her attack as a pink ray was shot at her from Fennekin's mouth. Buneary was forced into an acrobatic display of flips and twirls as Fennekin tried to snipe it.

Fu seemed to grow tired of the game as she gave her next order, "Agility!"

Buneary seemed to shimmer for a few seconds before her speed increased dramatically. Fennekin wasn't able to keep up with Buneary's increased speed and as a result, Buneary was able to close in for an attack.

"Dizzy Punch! Don't let up!"

Fennekin was slammed around by Buneary's relentless attacks which finally ended when Buneary used her ears in something reminiscent of a hammer blow to finish her assault off.

Dust was kicked up from the strength behind the blow and it wasn't a surprise to anyone when Fennekin was revealed to be battered, bruised and most of all unconscious.

Hinata recalled Fennekin and she stared at the pokeball for a few seconds before putting it away and calling out her next pokemon – Mienfoo.

"Mien-chan, use Swift!"

Buneary's added speed from Agility had faded and now she was forced to scramble to avoid Swift. It was futile, however, as the attacked homed in on her no matter what she did.

Once one star smashed into her the rest followed and Buneary was reeling from the attack. Mienfoo was deep into a fighting stance as she waited for her next order.

"Quick Attack," said Fū and Buneary charged towards Mienfoo ready to get some revenge, "Then use Dizzy Punch!"

"Detect!"

Mienfoo crisply avoided Buneary's Quick Attack before she followed up by staying out of reach of Buneary's Dizzy Punches. Buneary seemed to grow gradually frustrated and her attacks grew increasingly sloppy which Hinata saw immediately.

"Force Palm!"

Mienfoo's hands were drawn back before they struck out in a double palm-strike. The Double Force Palm sent Buneary tumbling head over heels before she collapsed into a heap at Fū's feet.

Fū wasted no time in recalling Buneary before she let out Naka. The Chimchar was raring to go, but even then she waved at Mienfoo having recognised the other pokemon.

Mienfoo waved back before the battle was on.

"Force Palm!"

"Fire Punch!"

Both of Naka's fists were enveloped in flames while faint, red energy wafted off of Mienfoo's hands. Naka lashed out with her left fist, but it was stopped cold by Mienfoo's right palm. The same happened with Naka's right and soon the two were locked in a stalemate.

Hinata was the first to give a follow-up order, "Vital Throw!"

Mienfoo shifted her grip to Naka's wrist before beginning to spin. Fū wasn't having any of it as she gave her next and ultimately decisive order.

"Heat Wave!"

A blast of searing, hot air was blasted from Naka's mouth. The wave washed over Mienfoo who was forced to disengage. This freed up Naka's hands who attacked with a dual Fire Punch without waiting for an order from Fū.

Mienfoo was still reeling from the Heat Wave and so a vicious one-two punch from Naka was enough to put her down.

The crowd was lapping up every moment of the fight and contrary to Naruto's earlier words, Hinata didn't seem to be affected by the crowd as much as he had expected.

"Fū's on a roll," said Kiba causing Naruto to nod.

"Hinata did pretty well, but Fū's still got Chōmei," said Naruto, "This battle is as good as done."

To her credit, Hinata seemed to recognise this as she recalled Mienfoo. She held up her last pokeball before she threw it in the air. The ball popped open before releasing a Poliwhirl.

"Or maybe not," said Yugito as she regarded the Poliwhirl with interest.

Understandably, Fū recalled Naka almost immediately before letting out Chōmei. They had a long day ahead of them with both a day and night session tomorrow should they win so keeping her pokemon fresh was still a priority.

"Baku, use Bubblebeam!"

A condensed stream of bubbles shot at Chōmei at a shocking speed. Fū didn't seem particularly bothered as she pointed at the stream of bubbles.

"Use it! Finish this with one shot!"

The attack smashed into Chōmei with amazing power. The powerful pokemon was pushed back by the stream, but once it died down the dual-type pokemon was enveloped in a red aura.

"Revenge," said Kiba before nudging Naruto, "Look familiar, hey?"

It did, in fact, look familiar. Naruto would never forget that fight with Mizuki. Chōmei was able to rapidly close down on Baku before unleashing a powerful punch. The punch was so strong, Baku was hunched over Chōmei's fist before it was sent flying into the arena wall where it was knocked out on impact.

"The winner of this match by three points to one, Fū from Taki!"

Fū and Hinata recalled their pokemon before walking to shaking hands. Both trainers walked off side-by-side as they applauded the crowd who only seemed to grow happier at the display of camaraderie.

"Wish me luck," said Yugito as she made way for the door. Her opponent, Ibara, had already left and by the time the both of them were at the bottom, Fū was walking back in.

As of now, the only ones still in the competitor's booth were Naruto, Shino, Fū, Shikamaru, Sasuke and Ino. At least those were the ones Naruto knew, if only in passing. There were four others, but Naruto couldn't figure out for the life of him who was who.

He had a strong feeling the boy in a shaggy jacket was Dosu, but as for the others he wasn't nearly confident enough to try and guess their names. Everyone was either on their own like Sasuke and Shino or in small groups like Naruto, Kiba and Fū.

Ino was keeping her distance from them today, but it was understandable seeing as she was going to go up against Kiba. She was probably also quite upset at Kiba knocking out Sakura.

Naruto turned back to the battle and he was surprised to see that the battle had just finished. Mata-chan had connected with an Iron Tail that had knocked out the Geodude it was facing.

It was not the electric type of Geodude and so the move was super effective. The crowd cheered at the short battle and Naruto watched as Mata-chan managed to win her next fight this time against a Furret.

Fū seemed quite interested in the battle and she was silent as she analysed Yugito's fight. It was clear that Yugito and Mata-chan have a deep level of understanding and it translated into their battles.

The Eevee wasn't the strongest of pokemon, but the trust she had in her trainer allowed her to overcome her opponents with relative ease. That train of thought halted as the frustrated Ibara sent out her final pokemon – a seemed to hesitate before she recalled a rather tired Mata-chan.

"Come on out, Jibashi!"

Ibara seemed to sag as Jibashi was released, but what was more the Electric-type pokemon seemed to have changed from yesterday.

"Luxio, the Spark pokemon," said Naruto's dex as he scanned Jibashi, "Its claws can emit electricity with enough amperage to cause fainting. They live in small groups."

"Her Shinx evolved?" said Kiba, "Looks like me and Fū have some catching up to do. First Diva and now Jibashi. At this rate, you'll have a Sceptile before I have a Lycanroc."

"Charge!" shouted Yugito and electricity crackled up and down Jibashi's body as he began to prepare his next attack. Ibara seemed to panic and yelled out an order to her Prinplup.

"Bubblebeam!"

It was to no avail, however, as Jibashi deftly avoid the stream of bubbles. He was clearly still powered up from Charge and this proved decisive as Yugito gave her next order.

"Thunder Fang! Full power!"

Jibashi was on the hunt immediately and Prinplup was far too slow to avoid the feline pokemon. Instead, it stood its ground and tried to lash out with a Metal Claw, but the attack was slapped aside by Jibashi whose fangs bit into Prinplup.

The Water-type let out cries of pain before it slumped to the ground completely unconscious. Prinplup would periodically twitch and shift, but it was clear that the battle was well and truly over.

"Winner of Match 20, by a score of three points to nil Yugito Nii from Kumo!"

The crowd cheered for the dominant display bu Yugito, but she didn't seem to care instead her gaze was locked onto Fū. The two girls seemed to stare at each other for a lifetime before Yugito gave an almost mocking bow.

Fū let out a huff and Naruto refrained from speaking as he saw the rather perturbed expression on the girl's face. It was clear that neither of them would be holding back in their fights.

"The next fight will be between Shikamaru Nara from Konoha and Hitomi from Kamiari City!"

That seemed to do the trick as Fū turned her attention away from the battlefield and instead focused on the sight of Ino practically shoving Shikamaru out the door.

"Come on you lazy ass!" shouted Ino as she pushed the reluctant boy along, "You need to represent Konoha well. What will your mom say if she saw you being this lazy?"

Shikamaru seemed to jolt at Ino's words. He gave her a dry stare before turning away and running down to the field. It was the most energy Naruto had seen the boy expend.

He must have really been scared of his mom.

* * *

"Use Leaf Blade, Bishop."

Shikamaru's voice sounded as unenthusiastic as one could get as it played over the speakers, but that lackadaisical attitude did not seem to translate into his effectiveness as a trainer.

Bishop, a Male Nuzleaf, nodded affirmatively before its hand was enveloped in a green blade of energy. His opponent was a worm down Shellos who was unable to avoid the attack and one wicked slash later Shellos was unconscious.

"Winner of Match 21, by a score of three to nil...after thirty minutes...Shikamaru Nara from Konoha."

Shikamaru had employed a variety of bizarre strategies. From constantly switching between his three pokemon to staying on the defence for as long as he needed. It had gotten under Hitomi's skin who had abandoned all forms of tactics and had lost in short order once Shikamaru had gotten serious.

"That was a stinker," said Kiba as the audience applauded Shikamaru, "I almost fell asleep, but don't worry guys. I'll spice things up again!"

"Don't be so confident, Kiba!" said Ino as she pointed at the boy, "I'm way better than Sakura. There's no way I'd lose to a chump like you!"

"Save the rest for the battlefield, guys," said Naruto as he stepped in between the two, "The cameras already caught all of your fight."

"Cameras?" said Kiba and Ino before they both blushed as they saw their faces plastered on every screen in the stadium.

The two trainers could not have moved faster and were out and ready to battle in no time at all. The crowd had a laugh at their expense which only exacerbated their embarrassment.

The crowd finally winded down and Kiba was chosen to kick things off. Without flinching, Kiba sent out Akamaru who seemed ready to kick things off.

Ino sent out a Gloom, obviously going for the type advantage, but Kiba and Akamaru were not worried in the slightest. The battle kicked off and Kiba gave Akamaru a familiar order.

"Sand Trap!"

The dust bowl swept over the entire arena and no one could see either of the pokemon. This was the same tactic that Kiba had used on Yari and it was clear he wanted to end this one quickly.

"Don't panic, Sora! Use Razor Leaf to fish that mutt out!" shouted Ino and Sora seemed to obey it's trainers order as leaves began to fly out the dust cloud.

Kiba didn't seem worried at all, however, and once Sora's attack died down he simply snapped his fingers. This seemed to confuse Ino before a cry was emanated from within the dust cloud.

The cloud was receding and when it did so Sora was held tightly in Akamaru's jaws. There were burn marks on the Grass-type which led Naruto to believe it had been on the end of a potent Fire Fang.

Sora had immediately been knocked out and Ino recalled her pokemon swiftly before letting out her next pokemon. It was a cat with purple fur that almost immediately hissed at Akamaru.

"Purrloin, Night Slash!" shouted Ino with her fists balled at her side acting as a visible sign of her anger.

Purrloin were said to be of similar strength to Rockruff. They both only evolved once and as such one could usually expect them to be evenly matched. That was not the case, however, as Akamaru stayed well out of reach of Purrloin's attacks.

Ino was a decently good trainer. She had made it to the final 32, but she was definitely not the best trainer in the tournament or even on the field. This was proven when Akamaru was able to pounce on a weakening Purrloin.

"How is her Purrloin tired already?" said Naruto and he received an answer from someone unexpected –Shikamaru.

"Ino isn't the best of trainers," said Shikamaru, "She looks after her pokemon well enough, but she did not really train so hard for this. She is easily distracted by stuff and as it turns out that tends to bite you in the ass."

"Didn't you fall asleep through most of the matches yesterday and today?" said Yugito her scepticism clear as day, "Wouldn't you be in the same boat?"

"Not really," said Shikamaru as he suppressed a yawn, "My mom forces me to train and I've got most of you figured out already. I know who I can and cannot beat. This tournament is a drag. I'll probably just quit when I face Kiba tomorrow. "

"Purrloin is unable to battle! Ino's on her last pokemon already! Will we see another clean sweep?" said Anko much to Naruto's surprise as Shikamaru's was proven right.

He turned back and he was able to catch a replay of Purrloin taking a harsh Thunder Fang to the tail. Akamaru had bitten down firmly and had thrown Purrloin around until the feline had succumbed to the attack.

"Check and mate," said Shikamaru, "I know what Ino's third pokemon is. She's at a major disadvantage against that Rockruff. She's going to forfeit. "

Naruto was about to protest, if only to defend one of his new Konohan friends, but his words died on the lip as Ino's voice came over the speakers.

"I forfeit! I can't win this fight," said Ino and her face was furious and resigned all at once.

"Winner of Match 22 by forfeit, Kiba Inuzuka from Saisho Town!" said Anko as Kiba's face came onto the screens, "Will the next contestants please come down."

Everyone in the booth, even Sasuke, turned to Shikamaru in surprise. The boy seemed to realise the quietness and he raised a brow when he saw the varying levels of incredulity on everyone's face.

"What?"

No one said anything, though, and they turned away leaving the boy to his own devices. It had already been clear that Shikamaru was very smart from his battle alone, but that was ridiculous.

Naruto would have never guessed that someone would forfeit especially not someone as headstrong as Ino. Perhaps it had to do more with Naruto never being the type to back down. Regardless, it was impressive of Shikamaru to predict Ino's next move.

It showed that Konoha had more threats than just Sasuke. Fū, was someone he had already earmarked for and so was Yugito. Kiba, of course was a threat too, but that list now extended to Shikamaru as well.

Suddenly, the door slammed opened to reveal Kiba with Akamaru walking beside him. The next two competitors, Kata and Fukira, had already made their way down to the bottom and their battle began without much fanfare.

"Another one bites the dust," said Kiba, "I'm knocking these Academy elites of one by one. Oi, Uchiha!"

This was the first time someone had addressed Sasuke directly and Naruto sighed as Kiba walked right up to the other boy. Sasuke seemed unfazed by Kiba's bravado and didn't flinch even as Kiba poked him in the chest.

"After I deal with lazy bones back there," said Kiba which drew a sigh from Shikamaru, "I'm coming for you next. Your fancy Academy won't help you against me and my team."

Sasuke was a prick. That was something Naruto knew from their conversation. However, he had stayed away since and as far as Naruto knew he had said nothing to Kiba or anyone else for that matter

Kiba didn't seem to be so fond of the Uchiha. Naruto genuinely expected an argument to break out right there and then. Sasuke's gaze seemed to harden before he simply snorted and turned away from Kiba.

Kiba's hands balled up at Sasuke's dismissal and Akamaru began to growl at the boy who had disrespected his partner. Before things could escalate further, though, Shino stepped in between the two boys.

"I'd suggest you save your energy for your next fight, Kiba. It would be unwise if the son of Tsume Inuzuka was seem arguing with the little brother of the Champion. "

While Shino's argument seemed to cool Kiba down, Naruto couldn't help but notice the way Sasuke twitched when he was called the 'little brother of the Champion'. Naruto was sure he was the only that had noticed and he filed that away as he turned back to the battlefield.

Kiba walked away from the two boys before rejoining Naruto and Fū at the railing. The silence in the room was rather uncomfortable and the battle down below was a welcome distraction.

In the end, Kata won 3-2 and before the result was called Sasuke jumped down from the railing and walked out the room. Dosu followed not long after and Kiba finally said what was on his mind.

"What a prick! I bet he thinks he's so cool!"

"Don't let him get into your head," said Naruto as he turned to Kiba, "It's what he wants. Just focus on how to beat him."

"I know," said Kiba running a hand through his hair, "He's just so...quiet. And not like that Dosu guy. You can tell Sasuke is stuck up. I bet it's because he's from a big city. There were never any pricks like that in Saisho."

"How rude," said Yugito as she looked at Kiba, "Do all three of you think the same about us big city people? That's not very nice..."

Naruto noticed Fū's grip on the railings tighten and he knew he had to diffuse the situation before another argument broke out. Before he could though, Sasuke and Dosu's battle began as Inari squared off against a Loudred.

* * *

"Melody, use Supersonic!" shouted Dosu as he pointed at the Fletchinder. It was a decent enough of an opening move in Sasuke's opinion. Supersonic was a debilitating move if it hit.

It was too bad for Dosu that Inari would never allow that to happen.

"Inari, Flame Charge," said Sasuke in response which drew a squawk from the Flying-type.

Inari was wreathed in fire as he evaded the sonic waves of Supersonic before speeding towards Melody. Dosu didn't seem particularly fazed by this and gave his next order swiftly.

"Shock Wave!"

"Protect."

A green barrier formed around Inari and the Shock Wave was blocked effortlessly. Flame Charge was still active and Inari who continued his charge. Melody was sent flying away as burns and small flames littered it's body.

Sasuke had been given the Technical Machine for Protect by his brother. It was one of those moves that almost every pokemon could pick up and Sasuke was glad for it. It certainly helped in sticky situations where evading was impossible.

Sasuke turned his eyes to Melody and the Loudred was clearly knocked out. Dosu recalled Melody as a point was added to Sasuke's score. Dosu seemed a bit put off by his loss and released his next pokemon, orders already spewing from his mouth.

"Magnemite, use Lock-On!"

The Steel-type let out a metallic noise before a red beam shot from it's eye. The beam landed on Inari who was flying in the air waiting for orders.

"Thunder Wave!"

"Protect!"

Sure enough, a green spherical barrier enveloped Inari. It was as if Dosu hadn't just learnt his lesson from their previous fight. The electric-type move faded away and once it did Sasuke shouted his next order.

"Flamethrower!"

A stream of fire was launched at Magnemite who couldn't avoid in time and was swept up in the flames. The steel-type was sent hurtling back towards the ground where it landed with in a burst of dust, rocks and fire.

The miniature explosion cleared up and Magnemite was revealed to be unconscious. The crowd was lapping up the one-sided battle and cheers and claps echoed out through the stadium.

This didn't seem to faze either of the trainers as Dosu sent out his final pokemon, a Zangoose. Sasuke raised a brow in interest at the pokemon. It was a rather strong breed and could pose a problem.

Sasuke contemplated switching out Inari, but his pokemon seemed to read his mind as he let out a chirp while staring down the Zangoose. Fine, then. They would just have to finish this one quickly.

"Aerial Ace!"

Inari was perfect to lead for Sasuke. His speed was amazing and he could hit pretty hard. It helped that he seemed to enjoy fighting to the same degree as all his other pokemon.

However, the best thing about Inari was the speed with which he could prepare his techniques – particularly the flying-type moves. The ways in which pokemon moves were cast involved a lot of energy conversion and manipulation that Sasuke did not quite understand.

What he did understand, however, was that the Talonflame line had a talent for Flying-type moves. That coupled with their speed made Sasuke set out for a Fletchling once he had graduated.

Inari did not have much in the way of stamina and due to his dual typing was still susceptible to rock-types, but so long as Inari did not miss, Inari did not lose.

"Detect!"

Inari missed.

Aerial Ace, an attack which homed in on the target, missed. Zangoose's eyes flashed before it  
moved out of the way of Aerial Ace and Sasuke grit his teeth.

This could be a problem.

Detect was a rather complex move. In general, moves were on a spectrum ranging from energy-based to physically-based. For example, moves like Solarbeam on one end and others like Rapid Spin on the other end.

A move like Iron Tail was somewhere in between. In most cases, Steel-type energy was molded on the tail of the user and this combined with the strength of the strike to make the attack.

All pokemon had energy of different types running through their veins. These types all interacted with each other in obvious and not so obvious ways.

Fire melted Ice. Water put out Fire. Grass broke Rock.

This was why moves like Flash Cannon could fell even the toughest of Rock-types despite not actually having a physical side. The very biology of pokemon was dictated by how these energies interacted with each other.

Getting back to the issue at hand, Inari was very proficient at molding Flying-type energy. However, he did not have too much of said energy to use. It was why Sasuke aimed for brutal fights.

The faster he ended them, the more energy Inari would have at his disposal.

Detect worked by stimulating the body and brain into hyperdrive. This allowed the user to avoid even the fastest of attacks. It was a rather draining move, but it could still be trained to be used in rapid succession.

"Skyfire! Keep it up!"

Skyfire was a mix of Aerial Ace and Flame Charge. It would boost Inari's speed the longer it was active. Furthermore, it would always be on target without the need for Inari to aim.

That was without the explosion that would surely finish the stupid Loudred off.

"Detect! Don't let that bird touch you!"

Zangoose was able to keep ahead of Inari's continuous attacks as it weaved between the living comet. Inari kept getting closer and closer to hitting his mark, however, just when it seemed like Inari was about to make his mark Skyfire faded away.

"Looks like your bird is all out of juice," taunted Dosu and Sasuke grit his teeth as he saw Inari was barely able to keep hovering in one spot. Inari had retreated from the other pokemon and was now in front of Sasuke.

"Quick Slash! Finish that bastard off!"

Zangoose's claws began to glow white before it sped off towards Inari. The combination of Slash and Quick Attack meant Dosu wanted to end this with one blow.

"Protect!"

Inari was still exhausted, but he was able to raise the barrier just as Zangoose was upon him. This was fine until Zangoose simply slid underneath the barrier leaving Inari behind.

It was with some confusion and fear that Sasuke realised Inari was not the target of Zangoose's attack.

He was.

The pokemon was still in Quick Attack and so Inari was left in the dust even as he tried to intercept the threat to it's trainer. Zangoose was upon him and Sasuke froze in fear as the pokemon reared it's wickedly sharp claws back.

His eyes closed in fear and raised his arms in a futile form of defence. Sasuke heard the audience let out cries and shrieks as Zangoose continued with it's attack.

* * *

"Why did it avoid Inari entirely?" asked Kiba as he watched the pokemon slide under Inari. It was only once they traced Zangoose's trajectory that they realised where it was heading.

"It's headed for Sasuke," said Naruto and he felt powerless as he watched the other trainer freeze up in fear. Inari was chasing after Zangoose, but it was far too worn out to close the gap on time.

Naruto let out a scream as Zangoose reared it's arm back and ,as Sasuke raised his arms to protect himself, Naruto felt something build inside of him. The screams of the audience were boring into his skull and moments before Sasuke was cut into he felt something practically burst from inside him.

Naruto felt his body act on it's own accord as his hand was pointed towards Zangoose. A second later, he felt his arm jerk back heavily. Zangoose was still closing in on Sasuke, but suddenly it was sent flying in another direction as something collided into it.

The crowd was stunned into silence at the sight and Naruto lowered his hand as he felt it begin to vibrate and pulse rapidly. A faint, blue light was emanated from his hands before it vanished just as quickly.

No one in the booth had seemed to notice as their eyes were still trained onto the field and the stadium hung in silence before suddenly a familiar Gallade and his trainer appeared in the centre of the field.

"Recall your Zangoose, now!" shouted Yugao to Dosu who seemed oddly composed. He did as ordered and did not even protest as Yugao marched him off the field.

A few medics had gone onto the field to assess a visibly shaken Sasuke as well Inari who was standing near the boy watching the medics with a harsh gaze.

Naruto's hand was still pulsing with energy and he tried to hide it as conversation began to pick up in the booth. He failed spectacularly, however as Yugao stared at his twitching hand.

"That must have really rattled you, huh?" said Yugito sounding shocked by the turn of events, "That was close! That Zangoose almost took Sasuke's head off."

She was met with silence, however, as everyone was still focused on how Sasuke had been attacked. Finally, it was Kiba who responded as he stared at Dosu who was now being walked out the arena by Yugao.

"Do you guys think–" began the boy before shaking his head. Shikamaru caught onto his hesitation and said with more gravity than Naruto have ever heard him speak with.

"That was definitely on purpose," said Shikamaru, "Dosu didn't even seem to care that his pokemon had almost killed Sasuke. I know it's not a lot to go off of, but it doesn't look good. The only other possibility is that Zangoose was at such a high-level that it disregarded it's trainer's orders entirely."

Naruto glanced towards Fū and he was surprised to see her gaze already on him. No doubt the whole debacle reminded her of their ordeal in Halo Forest and just like then Naruto had a feeling, no, he was certain that he was the reason Sasuke was still in one piece.

What the hell was going on?

Fū's eyes had a question in them and Naruto could only shake his head. He had no idea what he had just done, but he knew that it had been done by him. He wasn't sure if it was the best of ideas to explain this to Fū or at least not at this moment.

"Winner of Match 24 by disqualification, Sasuke Uchiha from Konoha," Anko's voice came over the speakers she paused for applause, but there was none at all, "That was a bit of a shi–uh...mess, but we move on. Tomorrow 's battles start earlier in the day and we'll have a night session for the evening battles. "

* * *

====Start Session====

[Day Session]

Quarterfinal 1: Naruto Uzumaki vs Shino Aburame

Quarterfinal 2: Fū vs Yugito Nii

Quarterfinal 3: Shikamaru Nara vs Kiba Inuzuka

Quarterfinal 4: Kata vs Sasuke Uchiha

[Night Session]

Semi-final 1: Winner of QF 3 vs Winner of QF 4

Semi-final 2: Winner of QF 1 vs Winner of QF 2

====End session====

* * *

"Things are heating up," said Kiba as they prepared to leave, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got a few things to work on."

Unlike the days previous, the competitors did not hang out with each other after their fights. The sombre mood after Sasuke's near miss made things a lot less cheery than before. The contestants all scattered, even Kiba went off somewhere, and so Fū and Naruto decided to head back to the hotel.

Their walk back was quiet, but it was a comfortable silence. They were both lost in their own thoughts as the residents of Konoha went about their afternoon. The events of the day weighed heavily on their minds.

The fights hadn't taken too long and the evening was quite a long away from now. Naruto was beginning to feel a bit peckish so once he and Fū got into the restaurant he turned to her.

"Wanna get something to eat?" said Naruto which drew a nod from Fū, "Let's order some room service. We can eat in my room. Do you need to go the pokecenter?"

Fū shook her head, "My team will be fine. Naka and Chōmei didn't really get hit that badly. I'll see you in a little bit. I just want to check something in my room."

The two split off and Naruto practically dove on his bed. He was feeling somewhat tired from the day's activities–particularly what happened at the end of the day. Naruto wanted to see if he could replicate what had happened back there.

"Okay," said Naruto as he propped up a pillow on the couch, "I sent that stupid Zangoose flying by pushing out or something...How the hell am I going to do that again?"

That's if it was even him in the first place.

Naruto focused on the pillow and instead of trying to push it away he simply focused on trying to lift it up. He held his hand out towards the pillow and tried to focus on it.

Nothing.

It was after about a minute of holding his hand up and straining like he had drank three gallons of spoiled milk that he finally gave up.

Maybe he was going about this the wrong way.

Watching Sasuke almost get killed reminded him of the time with the Scyther in the forest. The fear and shock and frustration and anger had just merged into this heavy ball of–

Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts as he saw the couch he standing in front of lift up into the air and shoot towards him. He closed his eyes and held out his hands waiting for the pain.

It never came.

Naruto opened his eyes and he was amazed as he took in the sight of the couch floating in the air. A soft, blue glow surrounded it and Naruto realised belatedly that the same blue glow was coming off of his hands.

Slowly, Naruto twisted his hands and the couch began to spin as if it were on an axis. Naruto moved the couch through the air with sweeping motions of his hand before he finally put it down.

"This is fucking crazy."

And cool. And awesome. And scary. And awesome.

Naruto's stomach grumbled to remind of his plan to get some food with Fū. Luckily, she hadn't walked in while he was busy moving the couch around or things would have been very hard to explain.

Naruto looked at the phone and he was about to walk over and get it when a idea popped into his head.

"Why not?" said Naruto as he lined his arm up the phone. It took him a fee seconds of focus, but he was able to lift the phone with his newly found energy. He twitched his finger and the phone flew into his hand and he caught it deftly.

So he hadn't lost his powers. That was good. First, he'd eat with Fū then he would plan for his fights tomorrow.

Maybe he'd mess around with his newly found power later.

* * *

"Viewers all around Sanka!" shouted Anko as the stadium filled to capacity, "The quarterfinals of the Konoha Rookie Tournament is about to commence. The winners will face off in a semifinal later on today. Conservation of energy is a key part of being a pokemon trainer. A good trainer–"

As Anko carried on with her opening speech, Naruto felt excitement well up in him as he stood opposite Shino. The other boy was a cut above the rest, but Naruto had full faith in his team to win here and then again later on today when he would face either Fū or Yugito.

"Enough talk," said Anko and a coin appeared on the screen, "Heads will be for Shino and tail for Naruto. Let's see who is getting us under way!"

Naruto watched as the coin flipped over and over before finally landing on heads. That was good. Shino would have to show his hand first that would go a long way to ending this match faster.

Naruto knew that Shino seemed to have a tendency to use grass-types and bug-types. This was proven correct as Shino released his Bulbasaur from yesterday.

Bulbasaur seemed to have recovered from it's fight with Sizzlipede and was raring to go. Naruto reach for his pokeball and soon Diva let out a cry as she was released from her pokeball.

It made sense to rely on Diva for this fight and while Naruto would have loved to use Shinobi, he did not want to show his hand just yet.

"Quarterfinal 1 between Naruto Uzumaki from Saisho and Shino Aburame from Konoha, begin!"

"Quick Wing!"

Diva shot off towards Bulbasaur with her wings spread wide and glowing brightly. Her combination attack slammed into Bulbasaur who was sent tumbling over the ground.

Bulbasaur seemed to be reeling from the quickfire start by Diva. It shook off the impact before waiting for it's trainer's orders.

"Powder Storm."

Bulbasaur obeyed and began to leak out powder of two different colours at a rapid rate. Naruto identified the purple powder as Poison Powder and the green powder as Sleep Power. The two powders mixed and spread out, but they were most centralised around the ground far from Diva.

That did not last.

Naruto was wary of sending Diva in and so Bulbasaur was free to follow up with the next stage of it's move as it grew two long whips that began to whip around in the air.

The powder was spread all around the field and Diva was even forced to fly higher to avoid the spreading cloud. Finally, Bulbasaur stopped and the cloud stop spreading.

Diva could maybe use Sand Attack to try and blow away the cloud, but she was already too far away from the ground for her to kick up any attack. There was really only one thing to do.

"Diva, return," said Naruto and Diva looked annoyed as she recalled. A timer was started counting down from fifteen. If he didn't switch before it was up then Diva would be eliminated.

Okay, they had to get rid of this cloud. Apollo was obviously a no-go, for now at least, so that meant Shinobi had to do it.

It only took Naruto a few seconds to come with a semi-decent plan to keep Shinobi safe. He enlarged Shinobi's pokeball and threw it high up into the sky just before the timer reached zero.

Shinobi emerged high up into the sky and as he began to fall to the ground Naruto shouted his next order.

"Use Bubble to stay out of that cloud! Make them really big!"

Thankfully, Shinobi didn't seem fazed to be falling through the sky and in short order he made a large bubble that he quickly clung to the surface of. The bubble was rather massive and Shinobi was able to keep his footing as it rose higher in the sky.

Shinobi stayed proactive and began to make multiple of these larger bubbles. They soon filled the sky and Naruto was able to watch as a stoic Shino took in the sight of the bubbles.

Shino wasn't inactive for long and he pointed at the bubble Shinobi was currently on. Naruto knew that Shino wanted to ground Shinobi and in the end they both gave their pokemon new orders at the same time.

"Razor Leaf."

"Double Team!"

Copies of Shinobi formed on top of all of the bubbles and they all scrambled as Bulbasaur tried to hit them with Razor Leaf. The attack lost a lot of it's steam due to how high they were and having to go through the poison cloud that was rising higher and higher.

Shinobi was forced to jump higher and higher in order to avoid both the cloud and Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf. The copies were slowly being taken out and Naruto knew they were running out of options.

"Use Bubble to protect yourself!"

In a risky move, Shinobi dispelled all his clones before enveloping himself in a moderately sized bubble before placing his hands on the surface of the bubble. Due to the difference in size, the bubble stretched at the bottom before it began to sink towards the ground.

It fell into the poison cloud and Naruto sighed in relief as it remained intact. It burst out from the bottom of the cloud and Naruto smiled as Shinobi burst the bubble. This allowed him to fall faster and avoid Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf by a wide margin.

"Water Bomb!"

Shinobi landed on the ground before forming a Water Pulse. However, he was not done as he pressed his mouth to the surface of the sphere. Ripples began to form on the surface of the Water Pulse and it soon shifted from a deep blue to an extremely bright blue.

"Protect!"

The setup only took a few seconds and the attack was ready. The attack was thrown at Bulbasaur who looked worn out from the countless Razor Leaves it had shot.

The Water Bomb smashed into Bulbasaur who failed to conjure up Protect on time and the sound of a thunder clap filled the arena as it was sent flying through the air.

The audience let out a groan as Bulbasaur smashed into the wall and fell to the ground. It tried to rise, but it staggered around before collapsing in a heap. Shino recalled Bulbasaur and Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

To make things better, the cloud had diffused almost entirely by now and it would be safe to proceed with the fight. Shino seemed to weigh things up before ultimately he raised his hand.

"I forfeit," said Shino drawing a few jeers from the audience, "My team is not diverse enough to be of a threat to Naruto."

That was an acceptable response and Naruto nodded at Shino who returned before he picked up Bulbasaur and walked out the arena. Naruto assumed he was on his way to a pokecenter.

The audience got over their disappointment and they applauded Naruto and he bowed politely before turning to Shinobi. His pokemon tried his best to act calm, but that faded as Naruto spoke to him.

"Great job on getting Water Bomb right, Shinobi!" said Naruto, "You really got using Round down properly. We'll work on even more moves and getting you stronger, alright?"

Shinobi nodded and Naruto smiled as he caught the glint of excitement in Shinobi's eye as they made their way out the arena. He had only learned Round about halfway through their month of training and using it to amplify the sound waves and ,by proxy, the power of Water Pulse had worked out superbly.

"Winner of Quarterfinal 1 by forfeit, Naruto Uzumaki of Saisho Town!"

* * *

Naruto reached the booth and he was surprised to see both Yugito and Fū were already gone. The only ones in the booth were Kiba, Shikamaru, Kata and Sasuke who Naruto had not seen before his fight had begun.

Apparently, the prick had some ice in his veins, after all. The boy did not seem terribly bothered by how close he had come to dying or at best seriously injured. Instead he stared down into a notebook that he was making notes in.

"What happened to Fū and Yugito? Did they already go down?" asked Naruto as he sidled up next to Kiba.

"Yeah. They were teleported down there by Yugao" said Kiba as he looked towards Sasuke for a second, "She dropped that guy here. Apparently, he had to have a checkup to see that he wasn't frazzled by yesterday."

Kiba was being a lot less confrontational than yesterday and it was easy to see why. Kiba was abrasive, but even he would never try and pick a fight with someone that had almost died.

Naruto wasn't sure how long that would last.

"Quaterfinal 2 between Fū from Taki and Yugito Nii from Kumo is about to begin," said Anko and after a virtual coin toss Fū was chosen to kick things off.

"Mai, let's do this," said Fū as she let out her Buneary. Mai, whose name Naruto had forgotten earlier, looked ready to kick things off.

"Senbi, let's go!" shouted Yugao before she let out a pokemon with green legs and hair while having a white torso.

"Kirlia, the Emotion pokemon," said Naruto's dex as he scanned the pokemon, "One of the few genderless pokemon, Kirlia posses an inaccessible reserve of strong and volatile energy. This energy is only released upon evolution allowing it to evolve into either a Gallade or a Gardevoir depending on the method of evolution. "

"Fū got kinda lucky with this," said Kiba as he waited for the battle to begin, "Kirlia aren't the strongest of pokemon."

"Yugito wouldn't use Kirlia if she wasn't sure it could fight," said Naruto as Anko gave the signal to fight.

"Dizzy Punch!"

Mai's ears began to glow as she closed down on Senbi. The normal-type was soon upon Senbi who did not flinch back from the attack.

"Hypnosis!"shouted Yugito and red waves of energy began to exude from Senbi's eyes. Mai was wary of the danger and she leapt right over Senbi before whirling around and slapping out with Dizzy Punch.

Senbi was sent sailing away and Mai stayed on the offensive. Fū was pleased by the zeal being shown by Mai. Mai was still fresh and she planned to finish this bout off right now.

"Thunder Punch!"

Mai's ears were saturated with electricity as she leapt forward to a still reeling Senbi. Fū was smiling as Mai closed in on a stationary Senbi until Yugito gave her next order at the last moment.

"Destiny Bond!"

"Wait, Mai, stop!"

It was too late.

Mai's Thunder Punch slammed into Kirlia and there was a flash of purple light before Senbi collapsed to the ground. Mai froze abruptly before she let out a scream.

Purple energy escaped from Buneary's mouth before she fell forward clearly unconscious. The crowd cheered at the turn of events and both trainers recalled their pokemon, Yugito in a clearly better mood than Fū.

"Thanks, Senbi," said Yugito with a small smile on her face. She spared a look towards Fū who lips were pursed tightly together. Fū stared at Yugito her eyes awash with anger at being tricked before finally recalling Mai.

Yugito didn't seem bothered and she sent out Matatabi. Fū sent out Naka in response and the battle was on.

"Swift!"

"Defend with Fury Swipes!"

The stars formed by Swift were cut apart by Naka's attack and gold dust flittered through the air as the fire-type kept up it's defense. Finally, the onslaught finished and Fū ordered her next attack immediately.

"Flame Wheel!"

"Double-Edge! Boost it with Quick Attack!"

Matatabi crouched low and yellow energy formed around her body before she shot off at Naka. It was not a perfected combination, but for something that had just been made on the fly it was perfect.

Yugito smiled as she saw Fū not tell Naka to dodge and their two pokemon collided in the centre of the field. Impressively, Naka was able to push forward against Matatabi.

A trench began to form from where Matatabi was being dragged backwards. Naka forced Matatabi a couple of metres, but soon Naka lost momentum and Matatabi blew straight through Naka.

"Naka!"

Naka was sent hurtling through the air before she landed harshly on the ground. The crowd let out a groan as the fire-type let out a cry upon landing. The impact was brutal.

Anko was about to call the fight when Naka slowly began to rise to her feet. Fū could not believe her eyes when Naka finally stood up. The Chimchar gave a screech of defiance before turning towards her trainer.

"Alright, Naka," said Fū, "Let's finish this off!"

Naka only screeched even louder at that and Yugito was about to order an attack when Naka's body began to glow white. Naka's body grew taller and stocker as she underwent evolution and once the light died down gone was Naka's previous.

She had evolved into a Monferno.

Naka crouched down and reared her fist back before she shot at Matatabi. Yugito gasped at the newfound speed of Naka who was now closing in on Matatabi with a Mach Punch.

"Get out of there, Mata-chan!"

Matatabi was too worn down from her use of Double-Edge and so she took a Mach Punch right to the face. A clap of thunder pierced the stadium before Mata-chan was sent rolling across the floor. She came to a stop somewhat near to Yugito.

* * *

"Naka evolved," said Kiba as he watched the aforementioned pokemon stretch out her new limbs, "Are you guys using like some sort of steroid or something? I still don't have any evolved pokemon. Fū's totally going to win."

"I wouldn't be so sure," said a voice and Naruto was surprised to hear Sasuke speak up, "That Monferno is on it's last legs. One decent hit is all that's needed to put it down."

Naruto conceded to himself that Sasuke was right. Naka was strong, but she had her limits. The adrenaline from the evolution had worn off and Naka had been crushed by Mata-chan's mixture of Double Edge and Quick Attack. It did not bode well for her and Fū.

It was very reckless of Yugito to do that. The recoil had hit Mata-chan hard and even if she moved on the next round then she would definitely still be nursing some wounds. It still paid off, though, Naka was a powerhouse and would be in just as bad shape if Fū won.

"Besides," said Sasuke as he looked at Naruto, "Your friend has already lost. She's angry and that Kumo girl knows this. That Destiny Bond at the beginning messed with her head."

Naruto wanted to disagree, but down on the arena he saw something that made him sigh. Jibashi had been sent out and Fū didn't recall Naka as she looked to finish things off quickly.

Naka shot off towards Jibashi with her fists glowing with fighting-type energy, but she was so tired Jibashi was able to stay ahead with ease. Once, Mach Punch was deactivated Yugito finally gave an order.

"Thunder Fang!"

Jibashi pounced on Naka and bit into the fire-type. Naka screamed as electricity coused through her body before her muscles locked up. Jibashi stepped back and there was clearly some blood on his fangs. Fū recalled Naka and Naruto frowned as he saw her free hand ball into a fist.

* * *

Fū was _pissed_.

At Yugito. At Matatabi. At Senbi, but most of at herself.

She had been fighting with more brawn than brains and now her back was against the wall. That Destiny Bond had caught her off guard and she had seen red afterwards.

Her last hope was Chomei and she did not even want to think about the Semi-final in the evening. Naruto's team was fresh and the cornerstone of hers was severely injured.

A few Hyper Potions would go a long way, but overuse of potions tended to have negative effects some of them long-term. Nurses knew how much was too much, though, so it was not all bad.

"Alright," said Fū as she forced herself to relax, "I can still win this one. Let's finish this one together, Chomei!"

Chomei appeared and he was almost immediately ready to battle as he squared off against Jibashi. The tension was building as neither participant gave an order before finally Yugito broke the deadlock.

"Charge then Shock Wave!"

Chomei could only cross his arms as a massive lance of electricity slammed into him. The electricity coursed through his veins and Fū struggled to find a solution.

Chomei was best up close, but so was Jibashi and Chomei had a terrible selection of ranged attacks. Only Pin Missile and Bullet Seed would do the trick and that was if he was not sniped by Jibashi again.

Jibashi kept the Shock Wave going for a supremely long time and once he dispelled it, Chomei was covered in electric burns. Staying at range would make things worse especially since Chomei had no way of avoiding Shock Wave.

"Brick Break!"

Chomei shot off towards Jibashi and despite the damage the Heracross had taken he was still moving fairly quickly. Jibashi had stood his ground and lashed out with an Iron Tail.

Chomei was forced to block the Iron Tail with his Brick Break Yugito saw this and gave an order which caused Fū to almost cry out in despair.

"You've got him, Shock Wave!"

This time instead of shooting a bolt of electricity, however, the Shock Wave was channelled through his tail and Chomei let out a scream as he sunk to his knees.

"Revenge!"

Yugito saw the red aura of Revenge begin to form on Chomei's body and in something of a panic she gave the order that would almost definitely end the fight.

"Fire Fang!"

Jibashi pounced on Chomei while he was still charging up Revenge. and bit into his opponent. Chomei screamed and thrashed until finally it was too much and he fainted from the strength of the attack.

"Wow! What a match! Winner by three points to two, Yugito Nii from Kumo!"

* * *

"Fū actually lost," said Kiba as he watched the girl recall her pokemon, "She won't be happy. Yugito better watch out..."

True to Kiba's words Fū looked like a robot as she stiffly walked up to shake a jubilant Yugito's hand. Thankfully, there seemed to be no hard feelings and Fū shook Yugito's hand before she was pulled into a hug from the other girl.

"Or not," said Shikamaru as he rose up, "Okay, let's get this mess over with."

Yugito and Fū had both vacated the field and Kiba Kiba practically ran out the door eager to begin. On the other hand, Shikamaru stood at the railing and Naruto turned to him in confusion.

"You do know it's your turn?"

"I do."

"...But you're still up here?"

"I am."

"Do you want to fight?"

"Can Shikamaru Nara please come down to the field?" said Anko over the speakers. To make matters worse, Shikamaru was shown on all the screens in the stadium as if to shame him into going down.

"You gonna go?"

Shikamaru seemed to weigh up the question before ultimately he shook his head. To settle any doubts Shikamaru spoke while dusting his hands off.

"I quit. This whole thing is a drag."

Shikamaru's words were heard throughout the arena as the microphones that they were all fitted with activated. Kiba seemed to be annoyed as he shouted at the other boy.

"You lazy piece of–"

Kiba's microphone was cut off and a few boos rose from the crowd. Anko spoke up looking to quell the situation and she sounded somewhat irritated and also a little amused by all of this.

"Winner of Quarterfinal 3 by forfeit, Kiba Inuzuka."

Shikamaru took that as his cue to leave and he was joined by both Sasuke and Kata who were both very eager to kick things off. Kiba was soon back in the booth and it was only him and Naruto as Sasuke's fight kicked off.

That changed, though, as Yugito walked in just as Kata sent out a Totodile. The girl joined the other two at the railing and she let out a sigh as she took in the two competitors.

"Do we even need to stay for this?" asked Yugito, "Uchiha is gonna crush him. That Fletchinder of his still hasn't been defeated by anyone."

"Neither have any of ours," Naruto pointed out as he motioned to Kiba, "We need to see how he operates. We've all been keeping our cards close to our chest, but he's been better at it than us. I don't even know what other pokemon he has."

"Raijin, I need your assistance."

To everyone's surprise, Inari was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps, he was feeling the after effects of that gruelling fight with Dosu. In any case, Sasuke had chosen to go with another pokemon.

"Elekid, the Electric pokemon," said Naruto's dex, "It stores electricity in it's body. If all of this electricity is discharged it swings it's arms in circles to recharge itself."

"So he does have other pokemon," said Kiba as he took in the form of the rather stocky Elekid. Raijin looked to be just as strong as Inari and he seemed to want to prove that as his trainer pointed at Totodile.

"Chidori."

Raijin's left hand thrummed with energy as electricity crackled over his fist. The attack looked to be stronger than a normal Thunder Punch and upon stating as much, Yugito confirmed Naruto's thoughts.

"That's Electro Ball mixed with Thunder Punch," said Yugito as Raijin shot off towards Totodile who began to fire a Water Gun, "If he connects then it's lights out."

"You got him, Raijin," said Sasuke his whole body screaming with confidence, "Finish this."

However, Raijin stopped his advance and instead punched out at the Water Gun. Electricity travelled up the stream of water before reaching Totodile. The electric currents wreaked havoc on Totodile and the water-type thrashed for a fee seconds longer before fainting.

"That was clever," admitted Kiba and Naruto nodded silently. Instead of trying to avoid the attack, Sasuke had adjusted at the last moment and delivered a devastating blow right from the get go.

That first battle was a sign of things to come and Naruto felt rather bad for Kata as Raijin blew straight through his Pidove before finally ending the battle with a vicious, dual Brick Break to knock the block off of Kata's Cubchoo.

"Brutal," said Yugito as they watched replays of Raijim connecting with Brick Break, "That's your next opponent, Kiba .Scared?"

"Try excited," said Kiba, "Naruto and I haven't even fought each other yet and there have only been scrubs to make due with. This Sasuke guy is good, but my team is good enough to take his down. That's a fact."

"Is Fū at the pokecenter?" asked Naruto and Yugito nodded her head as a somewhat sad expression broke on her face.

"She said she wants to be alone for the moment, " said Yugito, "I thought she was gonna kill me, buy she was more mad at herself. She said she would try to catch you before our match, though."

Naruto was not happy to hear that Fū was still upset, but in the end there wasn't anything he could. If Fū said she wanted space then he would give it to her.

She had looked so furious and upset after her loss to Yugito that Naruto was surprised she had been able to push down her feelings and shake Yugito's hand. It was just such a departure from the quiet and reserved girl Fū was that Naruto felt compelled to have a chat with her eventually.

"Cheer up, dude," said Kiba as he slapped Naruto on the back, "Fū will be fine. She was fine after you guys got attacked by that Scyther in Halo and she'll be fine now."

"You survived an attack by a Scyther?" Yugito sounded at once amazed and confused, "How didn't you die? Your team was way too green to take one out."

"Come to think of it," said Kiba, "You only had Diva while she was a Starly and Fū had Naka as a Chimchar. Mai was there too, but even then you guys shouldn't have been able to beat it."

Naruto felt like punching something. Bad idea considering the secret he was trying to keep. He ha told Fū about the strength, but he hadn't said squat about anything else. It felt wrong somehow, but he would keep this secret.

Neither Yugito nor Kiba would believe him unless he gave a practical demonstration and that was a mess waiting to happen. With that in mind, Naruto said his next words as calmly as possible.

"We kinda got lucky I guess," Naruto ignored the sceptical looks of the other two before adding, "I'd love to stay and chat, but we're kinda facing each other next so..."

That was enough to end the discussion, at least for now, and soon Naruto was able to walk out from the competitor's booth. He decided to take something of a scenic route and he must have wandered too far away as he heard two voices speaking.

Following his instinct, Naruto stayed hidden behind the wall. Luckily, his approach had not been noticed by either of the two people. Naruto held his breath as he heard the two men discuss something of a decidedly controversial nature.

"I saw Dosu's attempt on the spawn of Fugaku and Mikoto. Has there been any... _fallout_?" said a voice that was slimy and sent shivers down Naruto's spine.

"He has not returned as of yet," said another voice, a much younger one, "Sasuke-kun was taken to the Uchiha Estate and Fugaku was said to be very displeased with the incident. Poor Dosu is already in Konoha prison and he's been stripped of his rank. I doubt he'll walk free anytime soon. It's a shame he failed his task."

Wait, what? Dosu had been trying to hurt Sasuke on purpose. Why? The Uchiha were not an enemy one would want to have. There was still more to unpack like Dosu being jailed, but all trainers were seen as adults.

Apparently that extended to being tried as adults.

"What a shame," said the older voice, "Dosu had potential. He would have been a perfect candidate for Project Transcendence. Keep an eye on young Sasuke's progress, Kabuto. And on that Uzumaki child. His parents have been rather _annoying_ recently. Our work here is done. Let's leave."

"As you wish, Orochimaru-sama," said Kabuto before the sound of a pokemon being released was let out, "Alakazam, take us away."

There was a flash of blue light before Naruto was alone in the hallway. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and after a few seconds he fell right on his ass as he leaned against the wall.

This could be a problem.

* * *

_Hiruzen Sarutobi_

_Rank: #7_

_Grade: S-rank_

_Points: 71, 500, 000_

* * *

_Orochimaru_

**_WARNING:_**  
**_-WANTED CRIMINAL_**  
**_-LEADER OF CRIMINAL GROUP YAMATA_**

_Rank: #3 at time of purging_

_Grade: S-Rank_

_Signature pokemon: Serperior_

**_NOTE : If any trainer below S-rank encounters Orochimaru, you are strongly advised to take special care to avoid battle. Orochimaru is wanted for multiple murders, thefts and crimes against humanity._**

_Bounty: 60, 000, 000 dollars (alive)_

* * *

_Kabuto Yakushi_

_**WARNING:**_  
_**-Known associate of Orochimaru**_  
_**-Member of Yamata**_

_Rank: #42 at time of purging_

_Grade: A-rank_

_Signature pokemon: Alakazam_

_**NOTE: Kabuto is a strong trainer and former gym leader. A-ranks should approach with caution. Wanted for murders, thefts and crimes against humanity.**_

_Bounty: 12 ,000 ,000 dollars_

* * *

**Author notes:**

**Finally done. We got to see a couple of more stuff and hey Naruto can do some freaky shit.**

**We also got our first glimpse at a few battles and Sasuke is looking red hot.**

**Finally, Naruto overhears a conversation between the OG slimeball and his lackey, Orochimaru and Kabuto.**

**This took a while to get done. It was a little battle heavy, but it was necessary. I can't skip over too many battles.**

**I love hearing from you guys so please drop a review and follow the story so you don't miss an update. I'll try to get the next chapter out within the next two weeks or so.**

**The semis, the losers' final and then the actual final. There'll be a few surprises so keep an eye out**


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